‘Man Utd can’t rely on Martial & need a striker’ – Parker also calls for centre-half additions

Manchester United “can’t rely on Anthony Martial” and need to be looking at bringing in another proven frontman, says Paul Parker.

The Red Devils handed the French forward their No.9 shirt on the back of Romelu Lukaku’s departure in the summer of 2019.

Martial was awarded the central striking role he craved and justified that show of faith with a personal-best return of 23 goals across a productive campaign.

Questions have, however, continued to be asked of whether the 24-year-old can be considered a long-term option to lead the line for United.

Parker is not convinced that Martial fits that bill, as he could easily be moved back into a wide attacking post, and feels Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be targeting more firepower and another centre-half in the current transfer window.

The former Red Devils defender told Eurosport: “Jadon Sancho would represent a decent signing, but it will be expensive and United need at least one good centre-half and probably a striker too because you can’t rely on Anthony Martial.

“When things are going well with Martial it’s fine, but when things aren’t you worry about whether he’s going to put himself or the team first.

“Solskjaer has done better than other managers have with him, but I still see Martial as the type of player who wants to operate out wide and come into the middle.

“However, their most pressing priority is a centre-half. Manchester City seemingly pipped United to sign Nathan Ake for £40 million and that is good business, particularly in comparison to what was paid for Harry Maguire.”

While United are yet to show their hand in the latest recruitment market, Parker is encouraged by the progress that has been made under Solskjaer and is hoping to see the 13-time Premier League champions kick on from this point.

He added: “The manager has come in and lifted the club, now the next bit is to sustain the level he has them playing at and then improve on it.

“He needs to kick on and make sure United are competing in that top four to then build towards competing for the league too. There’s no dropping out of the top four now.

“A lot of the players have been the same players that were there under the previous two managers, yet Solskjaer has consistently got performances out of them.

“For example, he’s got the best out of Nemanja Matic - he’s now one of the key players in that midfield. The midfield three are very important to United at this moment in time.

“However, Bruno Fernandes’ impact is immeasurable. United have been a completely different team with him; even when he has had fatigue - which you’d expect - he’s enhanced and improved other players’ performances just by being on the pitch.”