“Good to have you back my bro,” was Marcus Rashford’s social media message to Anthony Martial after his return against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
The truth is, it may be Martial who is glad to see Rashford - the England hero has set up his teammate for three of his six goals this season. Nevertheless, it’s a sentence that encapsulated the mood of the whole of the club towards both the Frenchman and Sancho, who came on alongside Martial and Rashford just past the hour for his first appearance since October.
They sparked a reaction from a cumbersome United side who had been suitably frustrated by Forest for 73 minutes of their League Cup semi-final second leg meeting. Wout Weghorst held the fort well during his five matches in Martial’s absence.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag lists four qualities Martial brings
He grabbed his first Reds goal in the first leg and came close to doubling his account when his header crashed off the post in the first-half in the reverse meeting. But within ten minutes of his re-introduction at Old Trafford, Martial showed why he is the club's number one striker.
Rashford’s lay-off allowed the attacker to fire home his first goal of 2023, ending a month-long drought. The barren run was largely down to yet another injury that forced him off at half-time in the 2-1 win over Manchester City.
That was his fourth setback of the season and so United have drawn up a list of potential summer striker targets in the hunt for a reliable marquee asset.
Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Portugal World Cup hat-trick hero Goncalo Ramos make the cut. Erik ten Hag is a big fan of Martial but he knows his injuries would cost United in the long run if he was to remain as the main striker.
The 27-year-old has missed 19 games through being sidelined this season and has failed to see out a 90 minutes in any of his nine starts. The other six, therefore, have come from the bench and his display against Forest continued a noticeable trend.
Martial looked threatening when he came on as he beat away at tired legs and sore minds. Just two of his goals have come when he has been named in a starting line-up whereas he has grabbed four goals and two assists when coming off the bench.
It seems as though these shorter bursts of game time are benefitting his efficiency. In fact, it may be his best role going forward beyond this season in Ten Hag’s rebuild project.
The club will be expected to recruit a natural, proven goal-getter in the summer with hopefully the lure of Champions League football. But given Ten Hag’s feelings towards Martial, it would be an error to think the striker will be offloaded as a result.
That said, the player should not expect to be the main man up top anymore - but that could benefit him. Branding him in the same category as a Divock Origi is probably bordering on insulting and he would play much more of a role than that.
But for the most part, Martial looks best coming on during the second half to quake the knees of tired defenders. It would also reduce the risk of frequent injury for the forward while also taking the pressure off of him to get the goals.
It would furthermore provide better competition and it would be up to him to step up, which would only enhance the overall quality of the strikeforce. For now, he is first-choice striker, but that may not be his best role going forward.
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