The United great says Anthony Martial needs to improve his all-round game before he can be considered as a top striker, adding that Marcus Rashford has “never been a centre-forward”.
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole is not convinced Marcus Rashford is a natural centre-forward.
Rashford, who has primarily been deployed on the left by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has had a good season so far at Old Trafford, scoring 14 goals in the Premier League and five more in other competitions.
However, Cole says being the main striker has never been the England international's 'cup of tea'.
“Marcus has never been a centre-forward,” Cole, who scored 122 goals and won five Premier League titles during his time at United, told Goal.
“I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, it’s just Marcus struggled when he had to receive the ball with his back to goal. That’s not his cup of tea.
“In the wide areas, you never have to play with your back to play all game.
“When he plays off the left, you can see that he blossoms and that he enjoys that position. Coming in off the left, getting shots off or playing one-twos with the centre-forward, I think he’s done well in that position.”
The United legend also thinks Anthony Martial still has room for improvement to be regarded as a top-class striker.
“Martial sees himself as a No.9,” he added. “He has to work on a few things as well to improve himself – ball retention, getting in the right areas to score goals, just like Marcus is doing now in the wide areas.
“If you’re going to play as a No.9 at whatever level, you have to run in the box because that’s how you are going to score goals. Nothing ever changes. The goal never moves and if you don’t run into the box then you know that your chances of scoring goals becomes very limited.”
Comments