Dimitar Berbatov has claimed Anthony Martial needs the right people around him if he is to fulfill his potential at Manchester United.
Martial’s form improved when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer first came in as Manchester United manager and signed a fresh five-year deal but his efforts have dipped off recently.
The French forward was then blasted by his boss for his attitude in front of the rest of the dressing room after the draw against Chelsea.
Berbatov, however, played with Martial for a single season at Monaco before he made a £36million move to United.
And the former United striker revealed he had been impressed by Martial’s ability from their first training session together.
“He’s a quiet guy. He’s like me, he keeps to himself. That’s not a bad thing,” Berbatov said. “He has not reached the level yet where I think he can be. The first training session at Monaco I was going: “What the f**k?!”
“As a football player you can see straight away. You recognise straight away and this guy he had something. He needs someone to say: ‘Listen this is not the right way, over there is the right way if you want to be the best’.”
United and Martial take on Huddersfield and Cardiff in their two remaining Premier League games as they push for a place in the top four.
Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt’s agent Mino Raiola would prefer the starlet to join Manchester United ahead of Barcelona, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
De Ligt is a target for a number of Europe’s top sides after a brilliant season that has seen the 19-year-old play an integral part in Ajax’s charge to the Champions League semi-finals.
Barcelona are known to be keen on the defender after snapping up his current team-mate Frenkie de Jong ahead of the summer window.
De Ligt would also like to move to the Nou Camp in the summer. He is keen to continue his dynamic with De Jong, while he also wants to have the opportunity to play with Lionel Messi. But his agent’s own preferences might come into play ahead of the transfer window.
Raiola has an excellent relationship with Barcelona’s assistant to the technical secretary Ramon Planes.
Even so, he has decided that he would rather De Ligt moved to a club who would pay a higher fee to both player and agent.
That would mean, according to the report, a switch to one of Juventus, Bayern Munich or United in the summer. United and their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are thought to be in the market for a defender in the summer following their run of 13 games without a clean sheet.
