Mourinho: Martial Will Improve This Season

Jose Mourinho has expressed his total faith in Anthony Martial and backed the Manchester United forward to become a better player throughout the season.

Martial was a revelation during his first campaign with the Reds, in 2015/16, when he scored 17 goals in 49 appearances. His second term was less successful on an individual basis, after scoring eight times in 42 games, but he did lift the FA Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League.

The 21-year-old completed his first pre-season training camp with United over the summer and that appears to be paying dividends on the pitch, following a number of impressive performances in friendlies and his excellent finish in last weekend’s 4-0 win over West Ham in the Premier League.

“I have faith in him,” Mourinho said of Martial. “Probably, the player I was looking at [in the transfer market] was not a pure winger, because I have pure wingers. The player I was looking for would allow me to play three at the back and do the wing-backs. As a pure attacking player, Martial is a good player.

“He is one of the players who will have a better season than last season. I look at my players and I am sure some will be better than they were last season, and Anthony is one of those, for sure.”

Mourinho has assembled a young squad and, like Martial, he expects them all to get better as time goes on. The experience of playing in the Champions League - some for the first time - will also benefit them.

“They’re all young,” Mourinho explained during his pre-match press conference. “Micki and Mata are close to their 30s. Romelu is 24, Lingard and Rashford are a good age and they’re all playing. They are also national team players with the chance to play international games.

“We are in the Champions League, so it is the first time for Rashford to play Champions League. Anthony had a bit with Monaco, Lingard had a few matches but not more than that. For Romelu, it is the first time. For them, the Champions league can be a great experience with their development.”