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Man Utd news: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals plans for Anthony Martial role
MANCHESTER UNITED caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hinted at the role Anthony Martial will play under him.
The Frenchman tops the side’s goalscoring ranks so far this campaign with eight league goals.
Most of those strikes have come from the left forward position, which the 23-year-old seems to have cemented amid competition from Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez.
It was indeed that role where Martial famously burst onto the scene, drifting inside from the wing, taking on Martin Skrtel and scoring against Liverpool on his debut.
The forward was a ray of sunshine amid the gloom which dominated Jose Mourinho’s last few months, and capped off a wonderful team goal in Solskjaer’s first game in charge.
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I think Anthony enjoys playing wide, taking people on
Martial missed the Boxing Day win over Huddersfield due to illness, but did return to light training on Thursday.
Whether he is fit enough for the visit of Bournemouth is unclear, but once the twinkle-toed Frenchman does come back, Solskjaer has a plan.
“We need to get Anthony facing forward,” the interim coach said.
“I realised when I was a striker that when I ended up wide on the left or right, it can be so much easier to get space and face defenders up.”
There has been some debate over whether Martial is better as a wide forward or centre-forward since he arrived in 2015, but his Norwegian boss believes the flank best suits Martial’s attributes.
“I think Anthony enjoys playing wide, taking people on,” Solskjaer asserted.
It has not all been hunky dory between the pair of late, however, as Martial returned late for United’s Christmas Day training session.
The forward was supposed to arrive at Carrington for 6pm but the United No 11 came back late following a flight back from Paris.
The details of Solskjaer’s reprimand are unclear, but could become visible later today if he is omitted from the starting line-up.