Solskjaer admits he’s had words with misfiring Martial after five defeats in seven
JOSE MOURINHO had his doubts about Anthony Martial — and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may be beginning to see why.
The Special One would have sold the French international, 23, last summer but executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward refused to budge.
Just weeks after Mourinho was sacked in December, Martial signed a new long-term contract at Old Trafford.
Since then, he has scored two goals in ten appearances and his performances have dipped alarmingly.
Now Solskjaer admits the former Monaco winger is one of several players he has had a quiet word with.
Five defeats in seven matches has set alarm bells ringing at United — and the Norwegian needs to find answers ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Everton.
He said: “I have spoken to individuals and Anthony is one of those.
“He’s got massive talent, he’s signed a new contract and he knows we believe in him — so just keep on working.
“I think anyone that plays for Man United has to deliver to stay in the squad and stay in the team.
“Anthony is no different to Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez or the many forwards we have to choose from.
“That’s the great thing about it now — it’s down to the players as well, the ownership that they take when they come back in pre-season.
REDISCOVER THE MAGIC
“But I don’t want to talk about pre-season now, we have a big season still coming up.”
If they are not careful, United players will be reporting back in July for a Europa League campaign.
They were thrashed 3-0 by Barcelona in the Nou Camp on Tuesday to crash out of the Champions League last eight and they are currently sixth in the race for the top four.
Tomorrow’s match at Everton is followed by a derby against Manchester City — and then a visit from Chelsea.
Solskjaer quickly needs to rediscover the magic he had when he first arrived as interim boss just before Christmas.
He said: “That’s what we spoke about at Barca. When you’re at big stadiums, you’ve got to step up, to make good decisions — and I’m looking forward to this period.
“Looking at when I came in on December 19 and where we’re at now, I think anyone would have taken that.”
One bonus for Solskjaer is that Everton will be missing key midfielder Andre Gomes after his three-match retrospective ban for stamping on Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic last week.
Latest Manchester United news
But Toffees boss Marco Silva reckons his side can cope.
He said: “We always have a solution, even if the profile of the player will be different.
“Of course it’s a miss for us not to play with Andre — but we have to find a good solution for the team.”