Louis Saha says that Manchester United can replace Anthony Martial only with a world-class striker and only two players are worthy of replacing the young Frenchman.
Louis Saha insisted Manchester United should only replace Anthony Martial if they can acquire a world-class striker.
Rumour has it that Erling Haaland is the club’s first-choice striker target this summer, as a long-term replacement for Romelu Lukaku. This would bode well for Manchester United as Haaland was previously coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his time at Molde in Norway.
The Norwegian connect could benefit the Red Devils in their attempts to secure the young striker’s signature.
Erling Haaland will thrive with this Manchester United side. (Photo by Mario Hommes/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Erling is the son of Alfie Inge Haaland whose career was practically ended by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane. Given that Haaland’s father played for Manchester City, there is a possibility that he could choose the blue side of Manchester as well.
Needless to say that Manchester City are on the verge of being crowned Premier League champions and have one foot through the door in the UEFA Champions League semifinals as well. A double for City would definitely tempt Haaland to join Pep Guardiola’s side as legend Sergio “Kun” Aguero has decided to vacate his spot in the lineup with Brazilian Gabriel Jesus now being the sole striker in the side.
Manchester United currently have Edinson Cavani leading the line but with uncertainty on whether he wishes to extend his contract with the Old Trafford club remains to be seen, the onus falls on Martial who has had his worst season with the club. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he has also been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an injury.
Martial has struggled to match his best goal-scoring season last year, netting only four Premier League goals this term in what has seen Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes carrying the major load. Despite that, Saha believes the Frenchman should only be replaced if a world-class striker can be signed.
Louis Saha played for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and was a teammate of the current manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images)
“You can’t get rid of Martial without replacing him and Martial is a top player,” Saha said.
“So, to pick a player over Martial you have to look at Mbappe or Haaland or someone like that, otherwise it makes no sense to let him go. Just because he is not very confident right now on the pitch you cannot just go for a player of the same level. You have to look for the big names because Martial is a great player.
“I don’t think he has to the same platform that I had. That’s not an excuse, but I had Paul Scholes and a generation of players who regularly won things.
“This is huge because I don’t think I started a single game where I didn’t think ‘we are going to win’. This is special. I’m not saying the current players aren’t confident but it’s not the same.”
Saha believes United’s lack of experience winning trophies has impacted the form of their strikers, with Mason Greenwood also experiencing a lean patch this season, which he has seemingly rectified over the last month or so.
“It’s always hard to compare because it’s a different era and strikers had a stronger confidence back then in the players around them,” he continued.
“We had people like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes – players who knew their job and know how to win competitions. Now you have a side where strikers are playing in front of teammates who have not won a major honour – I think Pogba is the only one with his World Cup.
“When you have that sense of confidence around you as a striker, it is amazing. It’s a massive platform.
“Without that, you need strikers who have different skills and that’s what Rashford has and Greenwood. This is good because they don’t have the overall set-up that I had that allowed a striker to be a striker.”
We do agree with the former Manchester United and France striker but he did miss one thing in this. David de Gea and Bruno Fernandes are two more players from the starting line-up of United that have both won major honours in their careers at the highest level.
De Gea has won the Premier League while Bruno Fernandes was a part of the Portugal team that won the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
