Man Utd star was meant to be Henry 2.0, but Ratcliffe wants him gone

Manchester United’s fanbase often has differing opinions about signings, with some expecting instant success and some taking a slightly more patient approach.

Rasmus Hojlund is the prime example of people writing a young player off way too early, which proves that the first impression of a player often doesn’t tell the whole story.

The Dane failed to score in his first 14 Premier League matches of the season, but six games later, he is the joint-top scorer with seven goals after exploding since Boxing Day.

On the other hand, there are players that have the best possible start at a new club but then struggle to surpass that moment, and with that in mind, let’s take a look at a star who had the world at his feet after just one game for the Red Devils.

The first impression of Anthony Martial

The 12th of September 2015 will be a day that is fondly installed in the memory of all United fans, not only because they comfortably beat Liverpool at Old Trafford 3-1, but because this was when Anthony Martial made his debut.

After replacing Juan Mata as a substitute in the 65th minute, the French attacker became a United icon 20 minutes later. Martial weaved his way through multiple Liverpool defenders and finished his dazzling run with a composed, curling finish, which was very reminiscent of a certain France legend who moved to England after starting off at Monaco.

After his debut goal, all the talk was about the United youngster who joined the club in a deal worth £58m, and he certainly didn’t disappoint on his first league start, scoring a brace in a 3-2 away win over Southampton, with one of his goals seeing him famously spin Virgil van Dijk.

Over the rest of the campaign, Martial would go on to score 11 goals and pick up four assists in 31 matches, with former Man United player Louis Zaha even saying: “When you see him, he has as much quality as Thierry Henry at this age.”

Martial’s Man United career since

Martial is a player who often splits the opinion of the United faithful and pundits, with Alan Shearer claiming that he has a lack of hunger and desire to be a number nine, while Troy Deeney believes he is harshly criticised and misunderstood.

The former Monaco whizz has been at the club for nine years now, and over this spell he has racked up 317 appearances while scoring 90 goals and providing 55 assists, which are hardly the statistics of a player that has been a complete failure.

However, most of the frustration regarding Martial is his lack of reliability and the fact that he’s extremely prone to injuries, which has both hindered his progress and left United with squad selection dilemmas over the years.

22 is the number of setbacks that Martial has suffered since moving to the club, which has seen him miss a combined 89 games for the club. His lack of availability has been even more apparent over the past two seasons, as can be seen in the table above.

Overall, Martial’s time at United has been the definition of a rollercoaster ride, but a report prior to the January window suggested that the 28-year-old was at the top of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s list of players to sell as a matter of urgency.

While the long-serving dud survived throughout last month – albeit likely due to injury – an exit does now look to be on the cards this summer, amid claims that his expiring deal won’t be extended, bringing an inevitable close to a lengthy stay in Manchester.