Manchester United legend-turned-pundit Gary Neville believes Anthony Martial has genuinely struggles with his movement which often sees him drifting out of games. The Frenchman has found some good form this month with four goals across all competitions but Neville remains critical of the attacker’s play without the possession of the ball.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, he said: “There’s never been a player for the last 10 years at Manchester United I’ve been confused by as much, in terms of what is he?. I can’t make my mind up, some weeks he’s brilliant, other weeks I’m not sure he’s a Manchester United player. What drives me crazy about him is his off the ball work, I’m not talking about his defending, forget his defending, what does he do going forward? He hasn’t got any timing in his runs off the ball.”

Martial has certainly not looked the best in terms of the movement made over the past few matches but he has made the mark with crucial goals including a brace at Chelsea which nearly sealed a rare win at Stamford Bridge. As such, he has been able to cement a regular starting role since October but he may not want to rest of his laurels with Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard waiting on the wings.

The duo have struggled with injuries which have hampered their gametime and form this campaign but they should receive some gametime when the festive period kicks off. As a result, Martial’s performances are sure to be judged on a game-by-game basis and any drop in the intensity levels may encourage Mourinho to go with one of the options from the bench.

Meanwhile, United’s recent Premier League triumph over Everton saw a rarity with Romelu Lukaku dropping to the bench without any injury concerns. The Belgian had failed to score for eight successive matches and that did not change against the Toffees where he came on following the hour mark.