Erik ten Hag raves about ‘good presser’ Anthony Martial ahead of Fulham trip

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has heaped praise on Anthony Martial as he labelled the Frenchman as a ‘good presser’ ahead of the Fulham trip this weekend.

Man United will face Fulham on Sunday on matchday 16 of the Premier League and will be without a number of first-team players due to injury issues and illness.

But, the Red Devils will be travelling with Anthony Martial, who has only managed six appearances under Erik ten Hag this season so far.

Martial is obviously Ten Hag’s first-choice striker but due to his injury issues, his Dutch manager was forced to play Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo at no.9.

Ten Hag has used yet another chance to explain how important the 26-year-old forward is in his squad, thanks to the former Monaco midfielder’s attributes.

Raving about the France international, Ten Hag told MUTV: “He plays very well in a lot of aspects of football, I’m happy with that, except his availability.

“But we also have others and we have played with Marcus Rashford as the nine. We also have Cristiano Ronaldo, so we have more options there.

“It’s quite clear in my way of playing, I like the type that Anthony Martial is because he can hold the ball, he’s a target, he can link up, he can also run behind, he has speed, he can finish and he’s a good presser.

“In the front line, the availability of the players – that is a concern for us. We had so many games, like Newcastle United, Marcus Rashford ill. We had to play some other games where we have to improvise to construct a proper offensive line.

“If you can’t do that, then it’s really difficult to get into the first four, if you don’t have the players to construct a proper offensive line.

“I’m so happy he’s [Martial] back now and that we can manage him and that he stays fit because he is an important part of the squad.”

Anthony Martial has had only four shots and the four led to the four goals he’s managed this season so far. He scored a brace against Manchester City, and scored one goal each against Sheriff Tiraspol and Aston Villa.

With Ronaldo unlikely to feature this weekend against Fulham due to an illness, Martial is expected to start against the Cottagers and will have more minutes to add to his four goals and two assists in six games.