Yeah the gap between himself and Rashford this season is startling, given that they both had kind of the same baseline for development. Kind of reminds me of the disparity that began to show between Ronaldo and Rooney, when it was clear that Ronaldo was going to become an all time great, when at the start Rooney looked like the one destined for the no. 1 spot.
I still feel like I have seen enough from Martial over the last few years to not give up on him yet. Maybe he's not our long term solution, but when I think of our rebuild, he should be a part of it. Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, a new ST and new RW, and that should hopefully be 5 players to cover 3 attacking positions. I think back to key points in his development, and I can remember when he was really beginning to show form under Mourinho. There was maybe a run of like 6/7 games of real good performances, and then Sanchez happened. I literally feel like Sanchez set him back 2 years in his development, even when Sanchez was playing trash he played ahead of Martial. One of Mourinho's many mistakes at this club in my opinion.
He has pace, he's a good finisher (in my opinion), great dribbler, good interplay and passing. He has a lot of really important attributes. One of the things that I always say sets him apart, and is really evident when surrounded by the likes of Lingard and Pereira, is his ability to play one-touch. Unfortunately, there's not many other in the squad who can also do it. For me, it's about unlocking all of the attributes that he has. That's down to himself, and to the coaching staff. If I felt it was purely down to his own lack of ambition, then I would be firmly in the "get him out" boat. As it is, I feel we have a coaching team with no idea how to coach attacking and fluid football, and it's been that way for the past 5 years. It's not just a case of Martial. Pogba, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Di Maria. Why do all of these talented footballers regress when they come to this club?