Having closed the gap on Premier League leaders and cross-town rivals Manchester City to just two points this weekend, our Manchester United supporters inside the Football Transfer Tavern are in celebratory mood.
That said, deep down inside our Red Devils punters and something they won’t admit to freely is the fact that they’re still a little confused on just what Manchester United will turn up on a week-to-week basis.
Sailing into a 3-1 lead at a difficult venue in Southampton yesterday afternoon was in staunch contrast to going 1-0 up away at PSV Eindhoven only to carelessly surrender that lead and in all honesty, United have played a lot of games in short bursts this season with no true consistency in regards to the fans feeling totally comfortable with their 90-minute performances.
On social media earlier today, a lot of fans mocked the image that depicted Anthony Martial and David De Gea claiming that those two alone represented Manchester United’s squad photo for 2015/16 and while that is of course banter, what is true is that United are heavily reliant on a few particular members of their squad right now.
With Wayne Rooney having only impressed for England rather than United so far this term, it’s lucky that Anthony Martial has hit the ground running with United still looking relatively short for strikers up top while everybody knows De Gea is a class act that’ll be hard to replace when he eventually leaves.
But concentrating on Manchester United’s striking shortfall today, we’re devising a list of five players that should be partnering Martial up top for the Red Devils long-term, either through a new signing arriving or a formational re-jig.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players that should partner Anthony Martial up front for Manchester United.
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Saido Berahino
We all know the Saido Berahino story by now – he claimed on deadline day that he’d never play for West Bromwich Albion under Jeremy Peace again only to appear and score against Aston Villa over the weekend.
Now while Tony Pulis will of course want to be keeping Berahino at The Hawthorns for as long as possible, he knows deep down that he’s done well to get another five months at least out of the player.
If a big money move by the likes of Manchester United were to come in this January, perhaps Albion might be more willing to sell if they’re safe in mid-table by then.
While some United fans may question whether Berahino is good enough for them and is Tottenham standard instead, we mustn’t forget that the England Under-21 international has already proved he can score against an entire plethora of sides in the top flight.
Having seen others such as Danny Ings already secure a move to one of England’s bigger clubs, we actually think West Brom have done incredibly well to still have him on their books and given his promise, not to mention his pace, Berahino would surely be an ideal partner up top with Martial.
James Wilson
It is easy to forget that United academy product James Wilson is actually currently the same age as 19-years-old Anthony Martial, yet the latter player cost £36 million and is already a senior French international while Wilson has just recently made his first appearance for Gareth Southgate’s England Under-21 side.
With United facing lesser opposition in the Capital One Cup in the form of Ipswich Town this week, we think this is an ideal opportunity for Louis van Gaal to have a formational re-jig while playing both teenagers up front together against the Tractor Boys.
While it is rare for managers to play two up top nowadays, the likes of Watford are enjoying great success with their Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo partnership at the minute.
With United fans having grown used to partnerships such as Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole in yesteryear, is there any reason why Martial and Wilson can’t be United’s first choice striking partnership for years to come?
Diafra Sakho
Diafra Sakho’s weekend goal against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening helped contribute to one of the shock results of the season so far as West Ham United prevailed by two goals to one.
Poaching to strike from a few yards out, the Senegalese international’s strike represented his 12th goal in his Premier League career so far, scoring that haul in 29 appearances.
One of those players who seems criminally underrated by neutrals outside West Ham United fans, Sakho is always a threat on the counter attack with his pace, rapid movement and strength.
When looking for a left-field striking solution in the summer after struggling to land the likes of Thomas Muller, the Daily Mail linked the Red Devils with a swoop for the £15 million-rated Sakho and although the Hammers have started the season in fantastic style, surely the allure of a club like United would appeal to the player?
If Sakho builds on his gopod reputation by scoring against a few more of the big boys in the lead up to January, perhaps a few clubs might sit up and take notice more readily.
Given he’s already proved he can function well as part of a front two with Enner Valencia to boot, he’d have no problems in partnering up with Martial you feel.
Wayne Rooney
Having initially led the line this season prior to Anthony Martial’s arrival on deadline day, Wayne Rooney has alarmingly flattered to deceive in front of goal with his performance away at Aston Villa representing a low point.
Of course breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record with England in the recent international break, this temporarily put Rooney in a positive light again but more recently, he’s again not been at his best in a United shirt.
The likes of Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright have claimed Rooney is no longer suited to playing as a number nine but if he were played up alongside Anthony Martial as a foil in a 4-4-2 formation, perhaps he’d prove more effective than when leading the line himself.
At the moment when Louis van Gaal can pick from a full strength squad, Rooney is deployed as a number 10 behind Martial with top and Memphis Depay and Juan Mata playing on the flanks.
While Rooney is suited to this position, he doesn’t score enough goals here so to play him a little further up in a 4-4-2 formation might be something van Gaal wants to experiment with and Ipswich Town in the League Cup this week provides a fantastic platform to do that.
Romelu Lukaku
An incredibly ambitious potential future target to place in this countdown given Everton are extremely difficult to prise players away from, this hasn’t stopped our United contingent dreamily mulling over a strikeforce of Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku in tandem.
While Lukaku has of course already represented an elite English club in Chelsea, many still believe he wasn’t offered a fair crack of the whip under Jose Mourinho and as we’ve seen more often with Everton, the Belgian international does boast the pace, power and precision to still prove a top, top class striker.
Seemingly destined to rejoin another elite club at some point in the next few years with Everton unlikely to break their status as a sixth, seventh or eighth placed Premier League team at best, Lukaku is still the right age – like Martial – to be leading United’s frontline for many years to come.
In fairness, if Everton were turning down bids of £30 million plus for John Stones, god knows what asking price they’d be after for Lukaku but as we’ve seen from Manchester United, they are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the transfer market and if Lukaku is still scoring up until Christmas, surely he represents a best of the rest option in regards to not being cup tied for the Champions League latter stages.
