Manchester United can't ignore January transfer demand after Bournemouth embarrassment

Battle of the 9s

For the fifth game in a row Erik ten Hag rotated his strikers and it left us with both No. 9 starting for their teams. This is a sentence that would have looked bizarre a few years ago, but Dominic Solanke looked twice the striker of Anthony Martial, to the point that every Manchester United fan would have happily swapped them.

Solanke took his goal superbly, hit the post with another effort, held the ball up well and did everything with precision and intent. Martial was a peripheral presence, often late to react to loose balls and struggling to find much cohesion with his teammates. His finish at Everton a couple of weeks ago shows there is a level of talent there, but he just doesn't have the all-round game for his role.

When Martial was withdrawn before the hour mark, with his team chasing goals, a huge cheer went up around Old Trafford. He has now gone 21 Premier League starts without completing 90 minutes, which is a staggering record and speaks partly of fitness problems, but mostly of a total ineffectiveness to his game. His days at Old Trafford appear to be numbered.

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Solanke's career has been a slow burn and he has gone through goal droughts that would make Martial blush, but something has clicked this season and you can see the difference that confidence has bought to his all-round game. Martial's game is going in the opposite direction and even as a back-up striker, he hardly looks worthy of his place in this squad now.

The problem for United is that when Rasmus Hojlund came on, Solanke still looked like the best striker on the pitch. Hojlund clearly has potential but the decision to spend