"Been at Manchester United for eight years, and he hasn't even scored 100 goals" - Andy Cole calls out star for his lack of goals with club

Andy Cole has lambasted Anthony Martial for a lack of goals for Manchester United despite playing in some strong teams.

Martial has been at Old Trafford since 2015 when he joined as a teenager from AS Monaco in a €50 million deal. The French striker became the most expensive teenager in British football history at the time. He was touted as a future superstar and scored a famous goal on his debut in a 3-1 win against Liverpool.

However, the 27-year-old has failed to hit the heights expected on his arrival at Manchester United. Injury issues, inconsistent form and a lack of confidence have plagued his spell with the Premier League giants.

Cole has vented his frustrations with Martial by alluding to a worrying statistic about the forward. He has yet to hit 100 goals despite spending eight years at the club, so the United icon doesn't think Martial's been good enough, telling Betfred:

“Martial has been at Manchester United for 8 years now, and he hasn't even scored 100 goals. It's incredible. He is a centre-forward at Manchester United, and he has played in some fantastic teams. His best performance in the league was 17 goals."

Martial has bagged 88 goals in 301 games across competitions in eight years. His poor goalscoring resume has come at a time when United have struggled in the aftermath of Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.

However, Martial has been handed opportunities as the focal point of the Red Devils' attack by four managers. Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and now Erik ten Hag have all tried placing their faith in the Frenchman but to no avail. Cole added:

"He’s had more than enough time and opportunity to show United just how good he is and he unfortunately hasn't been able to do so."

Martial finally has intense competition for the striker's starting berth at Old Trafford. Rasmus Hojlund arrived from Atalanta earlier this summer for €75 million, becoming the club's youngest U21 signing.

Hence, Martial is now tasked with trying to keep his place in Ten Hag's side amid Hojlund's arrival. Hojlund already looked an improvement on the former Monaco teenager when he came on in the second half of the 3-1 Premier League defeat to Arsenal last weekend.

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Manchester United new boy Rasmus Hojlund impressed Casemiro on his debut

Hojlund could take Martial's spot in the starting lineup.

Manchester United's attack was lackadaisical in their 3-1 loss at the Emirates before Hojlund entered the fray. The 6' 3" Danish striker caused Gabriel Magalhaes issues with his height and power, a contrasting performance and output compared to Martial's.

The Frenchman was uninspiring and didn't offer much in attack alongside Marcus Rashford and Antony. The French striker did manage one shot and one key pass but was quiet during his outing.

Casemiro grabbed Hojlund before a Manchester United corner was taken and was seen mentioning something to him. The new Red Devils striker shed light on that a few days later (via The Sun):

“He was happy that I gave the team perhaps a slightly different dynamic than what you get from Martial. He’s maybe a little more technically strong and looks down the gaps where I like to take the fights."

Hojlund added:

“After all, he hasn’t seen me play before, so he told me he was pleasantly surprised to see me play.”

The Denmark international's display has already enthused fans, given their disappointment with Martial over the years. He could be the centre-forward they have long desired.