Zlatan no, Lukaku maybe.
The problem was that Mourinho didn't see neither Martial nor Rashford as true no. 9s and this is something he said quite often.
In Rashford's case, he's been proven right. But he didn't play him because we had an on form Lingard (shocking)
And Martial is iffy because he had too many games where he could not be arsed, and he was subsequently dropped. But again, never as the main forward.
Tbh, I would say that the trend continued for Martial this season until the moment we signed Bruno. And for some reason, he kicked on as a player from there. Not just performance wise, but he's shown drive and the desire to impose himself on games.
Before that, I still had my doubts whether he was really up for it game in game out.
At the time, under Mourinho, and under Solskjaer early on, Martial was nowhere near up to par.
I also think Lukaku was a far better player than people give credit for, and I don't think just because of his failed time here that should automatically have him deemed an overrated player.
His goals for Everton and West Brom were so vastly different to the performances he'd put in for us, which were readily worse. His track history meant he was not at all a bad signing.
The problem seemed to be that he packed on so much weight when he joined and just continued to do so, making him clumsier and slower and it just looked really bad.
He's lost the weight in Italy and he's been doing much better.
The bigger issue with him seems his inability to improve as a player. While he is a very good striker, he has the potential to be world class, but he doesn't seem to improve his game.
My take, anyway.
The problem was that Mourinho didn't see neither Martial nor Rashford as true no. 9s and this is something he said quite often.
In Rashford's case, he's been proven right. But he didn't play him because we had an on form Lingard (shocking)
And Martial is iffy because he had too many games where he could not be arsed, and he was subsequently dropped. But again, never as the main forward.
Tbh, I would say that the trend continued for Martial this season until the moment we signed Bruno. And for some reason, he kicked on as a player from there. Not just performance wise, but he's shown drive and the desire to impose himself on games.
Before that, I still had my doubts whether he was really up for it game in game out.
At the time, under Mourinho, and under Solskjaer early on, Martial was nowhere near up to par.
I also think Lukaku was a far better player than people give credit for, and I don't think just because of his failed time here that should automatically have him deemed an overrated player.
His goals for Everton and West Brom were so vastly different to the performances he'd put in for us, which were readily worse. His track history meant he was not at all a bad signing.
The problem seemed to be that he packed on so much weight when he joined and just continued to do so, making him clumsier and slower and it just looked really bad.
He's lost the weight in Italy and he's been doing much better.
The bigger issue with him seems his inability to improve as a player. While he is a very good striker, he has the potential to be world class, but he doesn't seem to improve his game.
My take, anyway.