Erik ten Hag's 'perfect' Manchester United player might be about to get another chance

For the amount of time Anthony Martial spent inside the Carrington treatment room last season, his attacking output was somewhat impressive.

Making just 29 appearances in all competitions because of a string of injury complaints, he still ended the 2022/23 campaign with nine goals and three assists to his name. When fit, he performed in such a way that made you think he could still salvage his Manchester United career.

He played an important part in key victories at various junctures throughout the season, and he would have started the FA Cup final at Wembley against Manchester City in June had he not suffered a hamstring injury on the final day of the Premier League season just under a week earlier. It was a cruel blow.

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That hamstring complaint forced him to miss the entirety of pre-season, meaning United had to navigate their way through their eight warm-up matches without an out-and-out No.9. He made the substitutes' bench for the season opener against Wolves, and then appeared as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur five days later to secure his first minutes since May.

He has since started three of the last six games in all competitions, including Tuesday night's 3-0 Carabao Cup third-round win over Crystal Palace, in which he stored 75 minutes under his belt and grabbed his first goal of the season. On the back of that, the Frenchman will be hoping to retain his place for Saturday's Premier League fixture against the same opponent.

The win over Roy Hodgson's side was United's best performance of the season so far by a country mile. They had a swagger about themselves,