Patrice Evra says Anthony Martial has admitted he knows he is on his “last chance” at Manchester United and risks being replaced by another incoming striker.
The attacker is the only natural number nine Erik ten Hag currently has at his disposal since the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo in November. The Reds boss has confirmed he is searching for an attacker this month with the loan market expected to be explored.
Martial has been hampered by three separate injuries this season and has already sat out 16 matches due to his setbacks. He headed straight down the tunnel during the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday sparking fears of injury, and while Ten Hag played down suggestions of an issue, it highlighted the fragility of his attacking options.
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Despite blanking against the Cherries, Martial had a good return of five goals in 11 outings ahead of Everton in the FA Cup on Friday. However, several pundits have stated that the striker needs to show more if he is to convince Ten Hag that he can be United ’s long-term frontman, having netted 84 goals in 280 appearances for the Reds.
Evra, says he had spoken to Martial about this concern and that he realises that he could be ousted if his form doesn’t grow. Speaking to Betfair, Evra explained: “I spoke to Anthony Martial and the first thing I asked him was how he's doing with his injury.
“People criticise him a lot. Remember when he started with [Louis] van Gaal he was unbelievable and if you asked Wayne Rooney or any other player they said he's got everything.
“I've played with him and he can be lazy at times but he's been playing with a lot of injuries recently, I don't want to find any excuses for him, but at the moment the priority is to keep him fit.
“You could see against Tottenham, he came off with 30 minutes still to play, that's because Ten Hag wants him to be fit. When Martial is fit, there will be no excuses.”
He added: “I believe that this is his last chance, he scored against Tottenham but he has to score more, he's the number nine. If Martial doesn't start scoring one or two a game they will look for another number nine.
“He's really conscious, and I've told him that this is his last chance, he knows that, but if he's fit I know he can do it.”
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