Anthony Martial can become a star for Manchester United now he is free from the 'intimidating' presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, insists Mikael Silvestre

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Anthony Martial can come good again at Manchester United now he is free of the ‘intimidating’ presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, claims Mikael Silvestre.

The young Frenchman was United’s top scorer with 17 goals in his first campaign at Old Trafford after becoming the world’s most expensive teenage player in a £36million move from Monaco, but his form and confidence dipped last season after Ibrahimovic joined the club.

Martial was unhappy that he had to give up his No.9 shirt to the Swedish star and was played out on the wing by Jose Mourinho to allow Ibrahimovic to take centre stage in attack.

Anthony Martial was played out on the wing to accommodate striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The 21-year-old only scored eight goals and his future at Old Trafford was put in doubt as he faced public criticism from Mourinho.

Silvestre, who won five Premier League titles in nine years at Old Trafford, acknowledged Ibrahimovic’s outstanding contribution to United last season. But he believes the striker’s knee injury has presented Martial with an opportunity to get back to his best and urged his French compatriot to score more goals to support United’s new No.9 Romelu Lukaku.

Asked if Martial is one player who can benefit from Zlatan’s departure, Silvestre said: ‘Zlatan’s aura was big. So was his character, his ego, and what he was spreading around him was sometimes intimidating for the younger players. But also it gives you an example to follow, so it was good to have him around.

Ibrahimovic scored 28 goals in all competitions during his single season at Old Trafford

‘For the younger players and Anthony, you’d expect them to score more goals and not put all the pressure on Romelu for the first season. Marcus (Rashford) has to score more, Anthony too, and all these players will benefit from the work of the team, but it wasn’t consistent last season.

‘Anthony has reached the level of Manchester United and the French national team, so I think he will answer the critics and improve his game to perform at least as the same level as the first season. When you reach that level, when you then have a difficult time, you bounce back because you are a competitor.’

On Mourinho’s criticism, Silvestre added: ‘I don’t know him well enough to say if it’s more love or a tougher style that he needs, but young players – and I was the same – need to be told the truth, so you work harder the next day.

‘He tried to stay focused on the pitch for 90 minutes. There was also talk about him leaving the club but he came out and said “I’m not going anywhere, I’ m going to try to impose myself here”. So that shows the character and the type of person he is, so I’m hopeful for him.’

Mikael Silvestre said that Ibrahimovic provides a great example for younger players to follow

The 39-year-old insists that Martial can be as good as Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, Europe’s most sought after striker who has been linked with a world record move to a host of top clubs this summer.

But the former United defender believes Martial’s problems last season started when he was substituted at half-time in France’s victory over Albania at Euro 2016.

‘The turning point for me was the Euros in France,’ he added. ‘He was substituted in one game, he’d had a difficult first-half and after that he didn’ t play anymore.

‘Sometimes when you take a slap to the back of the head, it's difficult to bounce back, and I think the whole season he was trying to get back to his best. But his character is a good one, so I think he will answer the critics and do better.’

Silvestre was speaking during United's summer pre-season tour of the United States

Asked if Martial is at the same level as Mbappe, Silvestre replied: ‘Yeah definitely. Every time he touches the ball, even out here in training when it’s early doors, you can sense the danger and the defenders – I wouldn’t say they’ re afraid – but you don’t dive into a challenge when you’re facing Anthony, because he can go left or right, and beat you with speed.

‘France have him, Thomas Lemar, Kingsley Koman, Dembele, so we are gifted at the moment with a very talented young generation who have come through the academies. All of them are in the mix so it’s a headache for Didier Deschamps.’

Silvestre also backed another of United’s French stars, Paul Pogba, to continue to improve and believes the £89m man can strike up a good relationship on the pitch with his close friend Lukaku.

Silvestre says Martial is on the same level as his France international team-mate Kylian Mbappe

‘I think he’s done well and I’ll tell you why,’ said Silvestre. ‘He came after a long season for Juve then he played the Euros with France and he got injured, so he had to catch up with the rest of the squad.

‘When he signed, the price tag was extra pressure on him so I think he’s responded well. Look at how many times he’s touched the frame of the goal – 11 times – so that would have been a big difference.

‘Obviously there’s room for improvement because we haven’t seen him have his best season, like at Juve, but I’m hopeful that on the back of a good rest and preparation with the rest of the squad he’ll have a better season.

Romelu Lukaku will provide competition for Martial after arriving from Everton for £75million

‘To be the top one you have to win trophies, and he’s done that for Juve and with Manchester United, so he's the top one for France.

‘His best attribute is the transition, going from defence to offence. He’s got something special in that he can beat people or he can pass with accuracy. We’ ve seen his relationship with Zlatan was very good. He can beat a player when he receives the ball, it doesn’t matter if he’s facing the game or not. On top of his natural qualities, technically and physically, he’s a very good reader of the game.

‘Because of this existing relationship between the two of them (Pogba and Lukaku), you’d hope it would develop into a very good partnership.’

Mikael Silvestre was speaking on Manchester United’s Tour 2017 sponsored by AON.