Manchester United’s gamble: the asset whose value could be set to decrease – opinion | OneFootball

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put his faith in Anthony Martial this season by moving the French forward to the lone striker role in a font three, but so far the jury is out as to whether it has been a success after he scored just four Premier League goals.

To the forward’s credit, he has a further three assists, but his manager would have hoped that making him the central attacking figure would not have left the striker below the likes of Ashley Barnes, Lys Mousset and Chris Wood in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.

In fact, both of Burnley’s strikers have two more goals than the Frenchman and if Martial’s troubles continue it could hurt the players’ value, should Manchester United wish to move him on.

At the time of joining the Red Devils, Martial was valued at £22.5m suggesting that Manchester United overpaid for the player when they spent £36m, at the time making him British football’s most expensive teenager. By the end of his first season in England, Martial’s value had risen to £28.8m, after he scored 11 Premier League goals in 29 starts. At just 20-years-old his potential appeared limitless then, but that is his highest scoring league campaign so far in his Manchester United career.

The following season was not such a promising one for Martial, and it reflected in his predicted worth, after netting just four Premier League goals, along with six assists his market valuation dipped slightly to £27m. That’s where it would remain until late 2017 when after winning the Europa League, the striker experienced a minor increase to £31.5m, reflecting in the equally minimal contribution he made, by scoring one goal en route to winning the trophy.

Suddenly as of 2018, Martial’s market value absolutely soared as football’s transfer market recalibrated following Neymar’s £200m move to PSG, the Frenchman was believed to be worth around £58.5m, but that is where it would peak. Since then his predicted value has dropped to £54m, where it has plateaued; but while he is playing in a central striker role if he does not manage to find the back of the net with a greater frequency his value is only going to head in a downward trajectory. Essentially, there is a good chance that if Neymar had not been transferred to PSG, Martial would now be worth less than when he initially arrived at Old Trafford.

The striker did net against their rivals on Saturday which was essentially the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for Ole Gunnar’s men.

Manchester United ought to be careful with their 23-year-old asset though. Martial should be heading towards the peak of his career, but at the current rate he is scoring he may not achieve the potential the club once believed he had, and it could reflect in them making a loss when they do decide to move him on.