Anthony Martial insists he feels he is ready to shoulder the burden of being Manchester United’s main striker during the second half of the season.
The 27-year-old was handed an unlikely opportunity to salvage his Old Trafford career at the start of the season by Erik ten Hag after returning from a disappointing loan spell at Sevilla.
Martial showed flashes of his old self in the win over Liverpool back in August, but has struggled to maintain his fitness ever since.
Indeed, the former Monaco star has been restricted to just eight appearances in all competitions having sustained three separate injuries.
The break for the World Cup has allowed Martial the opportunity to work his way back to peak condition and he is likely to start against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday,
Despite his imminent return, United are looking to sign a new striker in the upcoming January transfer window with Holland’s World Cup star, Cody Gakpo, Ten Hag’s No.1 target.
With doubts persisting over his durability, Martial is entering the last chance saloon but he is confident the work he has done over the last six weeks has stood him in good stead.
Martial said: ‘We’ve put in a lot of good work and it has been a bit like a pre-season for us. We’ve worked on fitness training and getting into top shape physically, and I’ve benefited a lot from that personally.’
On United’s chances of building on the results they achieved prior to the break, he added: ‘We’ve a very good team of players, with a great dynamic about us, a lot of victories already under our belt, we now just have to keep on in those winning ways we have shown in these recent matches.
‘Lots of matches coming up now but, apart from those who went to the World Cup, there has been time for some rest, and they will now also have had a few days off, so we hope we will all return in good shape for the challenges ahead and to win all the matches we can.’
Untied, meanwhile, agreed personal terms with Gakpo in the summer before dropping their interest and turning attention to recruiting Antony instead.
Gakpo is understood to remain keen on a move to United but will cost considerably more than the fee that was quoted in the summer but PSV manager Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted his star player could still leave in the next few weeks.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the PSV manager, admitted last week that Gakpo could leave in January as ‘there comes a time when you can’t say no’.
‘I enjoyed watching him [at the World Cup] and he deserves this because of how he has behaved, how he has continued to work and continued to perform,’ said Van Nistelrooy.
‘I was able to help him from very close by and that makes me proud. And then I’ll give him his path when it comes.
‘If I have the choice, I prefer the summer, but it can also be now. You just know there comes a time when you can’t say no.’
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