Erik ten Hag says he needs Anthony Martial to stay fit as Man Utd perform “better” when he is “available”.
Martial has missed a lot of this season through injury but has now played in the Red Devils’ previous 13 fixtures across all competitions.
He has only managed 16 goals in his last 74 appearances, however, .
lack an out-and-out goalscorer up front with Martial not cutting the mustard as Ten Hag’s No. 9.
They are expected to spend big on a striker and are reportedly targeting Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani, and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Premier League clash at home to Chelsea, Ten Hag said he feels his side play better when he has Martial available to him.
“If you are not available, you can’t score,” the Dutch manager said. “When he was available we played better, the team is winning games, he’s also scoring goals but he has to be available.”
Man Utd only need one point from their remaining two matches to secure a place in the top four. This would reflect a very successful maiden season at Old Trafford for Ten Hag having won the Carabao Cup in February.
Asked if qualifying for the Champions League is big for the Red Devils, Ten Hag replied: “Yeah, if you make that question you already have your answer. It’s clear.
“We want to win every game, that is what we do all season so tomorrow we want to do the same, we want to win the game, play dominant football and get the job done.
“We want to compete with the best, then you have to be in the Champions League. We want to compete with the best and be in the Champions League.
“In the Premier League, you have to be one of the first four, that’s not easy, many are competing for it, many think they should be in and we are one of them.
“First, we have to win the game tomorrow and get the job done,” Ten Hag said when asked if Man Utd are ahead of schedule. “Then it’s about judgement from others if it’s a good, bad or normal performance.
Man Utd’s top scorer this season, Marcus Rashford, has missed their previous two matches and Ten Hag has said the England international looks ready to feature against Chelsea.
“It looks like [it],” Ten Hag said when asked if Rashford will play.
“Yesterday, he returned to training, he looks quite fit but we have to see today what is the outcome of the training, how did we recover and then we will make our choices.”
On Man Utd’s reported interest in Paris Saint-Germain winger Neymar, Ten Hag remained coy, insisting: “When we have news we will tell you.”
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