Jose Mourinho wants “more consistency” from Anthony Martial after his moment of brilliance in Manchester United’s friendly win against Real Madrid.
Having seamlessly slotted into life at Old Trafford after joining from Monaco, the 21-year-old struggled to scale such heights in his second campaign at the club.
Mourinho has not been shy at expressing his frustration and there has been talk this summer of a potential exit for Martial, with United looking at Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic.
But the Frenchman thrilled the Levi’s Stadium crowd on Sunday by showing mesmerising close control and skill, before playing over for Jesse Lingard to open the scoring against the Champions League winners.
Put to Mourinho that the assist underlines what a useful asset the France international can be, the United boss said: “Exactly, but obviously we want more consistency in his talent. I think today was positive for him, that’s why I left him for 90 minutes on the pitch.
“He was enjoying [himself], he was trying things and it’s important in these friendly matches to try things, which he did. I think was good for Anthony, for his confidence.”
Mourinho left Martial out of the squad on occasions last season, never mind the starting line-up, and publicly called into question aspects of his mentality.
“He is a young player,” the United boss said in Santa Clara. “There’s still time to learn, still time to improve, still time to develop and it’s also his personality.
“I can say that he is training better than before, he’s working harder than before. It’s a question to bring his talent more in a consistent way.”
COMMENTS