Erik ten Hag might know Manchester United's £100m summer transfer priority is not enough
There was a telling moment in the first half against Brighton on Thursday night when Erik ten Hag slapped his thighs in anger.
He appeared to be reacting to Anthony Martial not pressing the opponent. The Dutchman sat down with his staff and looked exasperated, which is ironically an emotion many supporters have felt following Martial's years spent at Old Trafford.
Martial could not find the back of the net against Brighton and his contribution in front of goal has not been great since he returned from injury. The forward has scored just once and that was a simple tap-in from six yards against Everton.
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His link-up play can make him an attractive option, but strikers are there to score goals and Martial hasn't delivered over the last few weeks, although his biggest critics would argue he's failed to actually deliver completely during his time at the club.
Some consider Martial an enigmatic character, but the truth is much clearer than that. The 27-year-old obviously has an abundance of natural talent, but he's not fulfilled his potential and his career has been plagued with injury problems.
Ten Hag has praised the ability of Martial and it's understood he wants to keep him at the club, however, years of him spending more time on the injury table than on the pitch suggest he cannot be relied upon, not even as a backup option.
With Martial spending most of his time injured, Wout Weghorst was brought to the club on loan in the January transfer window as a stop-gap signing, but it's also clear he's not a long-term option, as his goalscoring record is dismal.
Weghorst has scored just two goals for United and both of those were rebounds. He scored two goals for