Anthony Martial comment from Manchester United teammate shows why Ten Hag has kept faith

Manchester United relied on Marcus Rashford for goals last season but according to someone who should know, it isn't the 30-goal forward who is the sharpest finisher in the squad, but the striker whose fitness record has become endlessly frustrating.

Under Erik ten Hag, United have been desperate for an injection of goals. They managed just 58 last season and the first two games of this campaign have produced just one from 37 shots and that came from a centre-back in Raphael Varane.

There is pressure on Rashford to back up his heroics from last season and on £72million striker Rasmus Hojlund to hit the ground running, but it is Anthony Martial who wears No. 9 for United and it is the Frenchman who maybe infuriates fans more than any other player.

There are days when the quality just oozes from the 27-year-old and others when he can have you tearing your hair out. His fitness record has become an ongoing problem and he is being handled cautiously by Ten Hag. When injuries pile up to the extent they have done they can also become a psychological factor.

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But for the potential - a word we should have moved on from when discussing a 27-year-old - that is there just listen to Tom Heaton discuss the best finisher at the club. As a reserve goalkeeper, Heaton will have had hours of first-hand experience of facing shots from United's attackers and he's in no doubt that Martial is the most lethal in front of goal.

"For me it would probably be Anthony Martial: he can bend it, he can whip it, he can go with power, he can lift it over you," Heaton told United's website. "He's got that composure, that sort of calmness in front of goal that makes it