Berbatov Urges Martial To Learn From Cavani
Former Manchester United and Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov has urged Anthony Martial to improve facets of his game by learning from Edinson Cavani if he is to become a top class number nine.
Martial spent much of last season as United’s leading frontman and returned a personal best of 23 goals across all competitions.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has had a difficult start to the season this time round, as he is yet to find the back of the net in the Premier League in five outings and was at his wasteful best against Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
Martial also has competition for his place this season, with proven hitman Edinson Cavani arriving on a free transfer in the summer and coming to United’s rescue with a brace and an assist in last Sunday’s 3-2 victory at Southampton.
Berbatov has urged the former AS Monaco man to tap into the experience of the 33-year-old Uruguayan to improve his game.
Berbatov told Betfair: “I was thinking about him [Martial] and there were fans messaging me on social media about him asking what is going on with him and why he isn't producing and scoring goals. He needs to up his game, not only him but the whole team too. In the really important games he needs to shine even more.
“I've been surprised with how well Edinson Cavani has performed, the guy is 33 years old and he's running around the pitch like he's a 25-year-old, fighting for the ball, making spaces, the passion he had is still there and that is something that Martial needs to look at and improve on. He needs to bully defenders and get dirty from time to time.
“He has the other attributes like technique, speed and stamina and other things like that, but in some games, like the one against PSG, you need to be a bit nasty and when you have an opportunity to score, you need to score.
“I hope it's just a blip for him because I like him as a player and as a human, I hope he can continue and get better with his development. I can tell that Solskjaer likes him a lot as well with the amount of game time he is getting. Hopefully, after the games, win or lose he looks for advice from Ole, and with Cavani there he can see how he is moving around and they've both been in the French league so they will know each other.
“The examples are around him, he only needs to look around him and ask, it's as simple as that. On the training pitch he just needs to stay and work on things that may be missing from his game.”
