Cristiano Ronaldo was Manchester United's primary threat last season, scoring more Premier League goals than any of his teammates. As a penalty box striker, the Portuguese international maximised the chances he was presented with.
However, the 37-year-old looks set to depart Old Trafford this summer. Without Ronaldo, United could be left with a void up front but based on pre-season so far, it seems Erik ten Hag has an internal solution on his hands.
Anthony Martial has appeared reborn in recent friendlies against both Liverpool and Melbourne Victory, scoring in both matches. After spending the last six months on loan at Sevilla, he could be set to salvage his career in Manchester under Ten Hag.
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The Frenchman has made his desire to operate as a central striker known for most of his time in England, but he's been forced to accumulate a significant amount of minutes on the left side of the field under different coaches.
Martial would argue that he hasn't been presented with a real opportunity to prosper as a striker for United, but Ten Hag seems willing to properly test his credentials.
The 26-year-old seems to suit the ideas of his new coach when in possession of the ball. The ability to link up with teammates in tight spaces has always been one of his strengths and with Ten Hag encouraging plenty of movement and one-touch football, Martial has appeared at home.
He's also quick enough to threaten in behind opponents, which can provide a means of stretching defences and generating space for Bruno Fernandes as the team's no.10 in more withdrawn areas.
Finishing is typically regarded as an essential quality held by the best strikers, and Martial's proficiency can be assessed using Expected Goals (xG).
Over the past five seasons, Martial has been expected to score roughly 34.6 goals - excluding penalties - in the Premier League, La Liga, Champions League and Europa League. In actual reality, he's found the net 45 times - excluding penalties - equating to an overperformance above expectation of around 10.4 goals.
The bad finishers tend to underperform xG, the average finishers tend to be perform in line with xG, and the better finishers tend to overperform their expected figures. For perspective, Edinson Cavani has overperformed by 4.1 goals over the same period, whereas Gabriel Jesus has underperformed by exactly the same amount, 4.1 goals.
In terms of the best around, the likes of Son Heung-min and Lionel Messi are the gold standard. The former has overperformed by 22.2 goals over the past five seasons, and the latter has posted an incredible overperformance of 30.1 goals.
Martial generally seems to be a decent finisher, he's a quick threat for defenders to worry about and he's a natural when combining with others without taking too many touches to make a decision.
Overall, if his current form continues, United's forgotten man could end up as the ideal player to compensate for Ronaldo's future departure.
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