Erik ten Hag confirms he wants to keep Anthony Martial at Manchester United

Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has confirmed that he wants Anthony Martial to stay with the club this summer amid the speculation surrounding his future.

The 27-year-old made a strong impression during Ten Hag's first pre-season as the club's manager last summer, which put the Frenchman in line to start the 2022-23 campaign as the team's first-choice centre-forward.

Martial missed the start of the season with a hamstring issue, though, and he also struggled with Achilles, back, muscular and hip problems last term.

The Frenchman, who scored nine times and registered three assists in 29 appearances at club level last season, has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer, with Man United preparing to bring in at least one centre-forward.

However, Ten Hag has said that he wants to keep hold of Martial, who was back in first-team training on Monday after recovering from a hamstring problem, which he suffered towards the end of last season.

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"We need a good squad and Anthony Martial is a brilliant football player and so he will help us. He scored goals and also in other areas of football like pressing, in possession, combinations. He's a great player and, yeah, let's hope he will be fit and he stays fit," Ten Hag told reporters on Monday.

"Today he was in the team training, so that is really hopeful. And, yeah, of course, when you have a player in a squad you expect that he is available and then the players have to take the responsibility to be available.

"But when he's not I have to deal with the situation and we show that we also then can be successful without that striker. But yeah, of course, it's more easy when you have that striker in your team because I think every club who wins big trophies has scoring abilities in that team."

Martial could therefore be involved in Man United's pre-season clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, which comes less than 24 hours after an academy side face Wrexham in San Diego.

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Jadon Sancho has been used as a false nine during pre-season, and he impressed in that area of the field against Arsenal on Saturday, finding the back of the net against the Gunners.

There have been claims that Ten Hag is considering using the England international through the middle this term, and the Dutchman has revealed that he has been pleased with the attacker's performances this summer.

"He is doing well, also in that role. I think Jadon is the best in positions in central positions where he can get involvements and also when he played in wide areas," added the head coach.

"But, you know, when you're playing with me in the wide areas, in the right setting, you also have the freedom in the right setting. So it can be right to be inside in [number] 10 positions, in central positions, but also when you are in such positions you have to make runs behind because that is very important to our way of play, that we have many players who run in behind."

Despite suggestions that Tottenham Hotspur will sell Harry Kane this summer if he does not sign a new deal, Atalanta BC's Rasmus Hojlund is still thought to be Man United's leading attacking target in the current window, with the Denmark international said to have agreed a five-year deal at Old Trafford.