Red letter day for Manchester United’s Anthony Martial

The huge shadows cast by Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could provide a place for Anthony Martial to grow in peace this season but one year after a record-breaking move from Monaco, the French striker still feels he has a lot of improving to do.

Martial, who became the most expensive teenager in football history when Manchester United paid €43m for him on September 1, 2015, is back in the news this weekend as Jose Mourinho decides whether to play him in the Manchester derby or react to media pressure and select Marcus Rashford instead.

When you consider what an impact the striker made in his debut season for United despite all the background trauma, it seems almost unfair that his contribution is even in question; but so drastic have been the changes since Louis van Gaal was sacked, nothing is certain at Old Trafford any more.