Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho tells Anthony Martial he has blown his chance to regain his place
Frenchman is facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford following a series of underwhelming displays
JOSE MOURINHO has told Anthony Martial he blew the chance to regain his Manchester United spot.
Martial, 21, was given more opportunities than Memphis Depay to prove himself to the United boss — but no longer.
The French striker’s display in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool 11 days ago was all but the final straw for Mourinho, who axed him for last weekend’s point at Stoke and let him fly off to Paris for a break.
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In Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney there are plenty of options for the three behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Martial, who joined for an initial £36million, simply is not doing enough to warrant one of those spots, as Mourinho made clear on the eve of tonight’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg at Hull.
United’s boss said: “I don’t think he lost his focus. I think he just didn’t take with both hands a big opportunity he had.
“When we spoke about Memphis Depay, we spoke about it being the only position where we have overbooking.”
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Memphis, 22, was flogged to Lyon last week, but Mourinho added: “We have still five players for these positions. I cannot give to one player chances to play and kill the others.
“With Memphis I considered him the last option. With the other guys, I think you would be here now asking me why Mata is not playing or Rashford doesn’t have a chance or why Lingard, a national team player, is not playing.
“So this is the reality. We have Rashford, Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Martial and I cannot give the same player chance after chance after chance and not consider the effort of the others.
“Anthony played against Liverpool, a big match for us and for him too, and the next game I went to Mata and Mkhitaryan. This is the situation.”
Martial has been poor since finishing last season as United’s top scorer with 17 goals and Mourinho is right to ditch him — despite complaints from the player’s camp.
Mourinho made clear earlier in the campaign that Martial needed to start listening to him rather than his agent, as rumours of a move away from Old Trafford circulated.
It is evident he is not listening and thinks he warrants a spot based on last season rather than current form.
If anyone should have a complaint about being dropped it is Mata, who gives his utmost and affects every game he plays in, despite lacking the pace of others.
Mkhitaryan has taken to the Premier League now, Lingard, 24, is a consistent performer while the potential in Rashford, 19, is recognised by all and he will get his chance against Marco Silva’s Hull.
Then there is Rooney, who showed at Stoke there is still magic in those boots.
With the 250th goal that broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time United goalscoring record a weight could be lifted off Rooney’s shoulders.
Mourinho added: “Now every goal becomes a normal goal.
“The goal against Reading was special because it equalled Sir Bobby’s record.
“The goal against Stoke was special because it’s the goal that gives him the record. The next goal doesn’t mean anything special.
“I don’t think we’re speaking now about Rooney’s record because it’s there for history. Now I think everything will be watched with normal eyes.”
United are in pole position to reach Wembley, holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
The League Cup might be low on the priority list for some, but this was the first trophy in English football for Mourinho at Chelsea.
He will be hoping it can be the same launchpad for him at United, with his side looking to extend an unbeaten run of 17 games as they continue to battle on four fronts.
Mourinho’s only worry about reaching the EFL Cup final on February 26 is that it would mean their Manchester derby at the Etihad has to be rearranged.
And he does not trust Prem chiefs to give United a favourable date for that match.
He said: “I’m sure they will choose an amazing moment, difficult for us to play the match against Manchester City.”
You could say it is the price of success and tonight at the KCOM he takes another step towards his first taste of that with United.