Premier League winner and former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has confirmed his hopes that Anthony Martial will still have a future at Old Trafford.
Signed in 2015, Martial burst onto the scene with a sensational debut goal against Liverpool. Tipped as one to watch, Martial has never hit the heights since then.
He has just 62 Premier League goals and fans and pundits have lamented his attitude and desire to become the central striker. A loan spell around Europe have not helped Martial's cause either.
Martial has started just two Premier League games this season, with eight substitute appearances; he has yet to score a league goal. Now in his ninth season, it feels as if Martial's days are numbered.
But Berbatov, a former Monaco teammate of Martial's, has a different opinion. Berbatov said to Betfair, "I really hope Martial has a future at Man United. I’m a bit biased because I used to play with him, and I saw the quality he has."
"He needs to be shaken up a little bit, and there are moments where he needs to push hard and change his game." Berbatov did hint at a change in Martial's body language in the last few games, saying, "I saw in the last couple of games, he did that, he pressed, he was angry in his body language and going hard towards the opposition."
Berbatov suggested that complacency had set in for Martial and that he needed a wake-up call; "When you’ve been at a club for a long time, you get complacent. And people around you need to wake you up and say, ‘Look, you have so many qualities that you’re not using correctly. Wake up, do more and bring it to the team."
Martial will hope to feature for Manchester United as they travel to Everton on Sunday.