Dwight Yorke has urged Manchester United and former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to have patience with Anthony Martial, insisting he can develop into the world-class striker the Red Devils so desperately need.
The Old Trafford legend has compared the France forward to himself and also Arsenal icon Thierry Henry, saying Martial is following a similar path from wide attacker to central striker.
And he insists he needs time, patience and the opportunity to hone his skills, to become the number nine the Red Devils require.
United have been urged to splash the cash on a world-class frontman this summer following their wasteful defeat to Sevilla in their Europa League semi-final.
Martial is sensational with the ball at his feet and is the Premier League giants’ top scorer this season with 23 goals, but the 24-year-old has been criticised for his lack of clinical touch in front of the net.
United’s need for an out-and-out frontman was highlighted even further on Monday night as former striker Romelu Lukaku scored twice to fire Inter Milan to the Europa League final – prompting claims from Jamie O’Hara that Solskjaer’s side would be stronger had he not sold the Belgian last summer.
But Yorke insists Martial is not the finished article yet and just needs time.
Speaking on Tuesday’s talkSPORT Breakfast, the treble winner said: “A number nine is a very unique position. It’s a very rare breed and it seems like it’s gone out of the game a bit.
“I never considered myself as a number nine. I developed my skills playing from the left wing to the right wing and then found myself pretty much playing in that number nine position, but not really as a number nine.
“It’s a specialist position and probably the hardest position you can play, with your back to goal and having to hold off defenders and make runs; you can only get better in that position if you play week-in, week-out.
“Look at the top goalscorers in the Premier League: Robbie Fowler, Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Andy Cole – those players only played just in that position.
“Anthony Martial is like myself, Thierry Henry, maybe Wayne Rooney and even Cristiano Ronaldo – starting on the wing, developing and improving their skills and then get to that number nine position. That’s what Martial is doing now.
Arsenal legend Henry went from playing as a wide attacker to becoming one of the best central strikers in world football and the history of the Premier League[/caption]
“I think Martial will get better, but he needs to play in that position a lot more, He needs to learn his trade.
“These guys are in their early 20s, I didn’t play as a centre-forward until I was around 24 and if you look at Henry and those guys, they all get to that position around the same age. So it’s a work in progress.
“I understand Man United are there to challenge and they need to bring in players, of course, but the players they have are excellent and it’ll be interesting to see how Ole will develop those players and use them. Ole was a frontman himself, so he should know how to improve these players.
“And look at how many goals Martial has scored this year – he can only get better!”
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