Jose Mourinho urges Anthony Martial to listen to his advice as Manchester United striker rescues them against Middlesbrough
- Martial scored United's equaliser as they fought back to beat Middlesbrough
- French striker has struggled for opportunities this season under Mourinho
- It led to his agent suggesting he would join Sevilla on loan in January
- Mourinho has told Martial to listen to his advice and not that of his agent
Jose Mourinho saw Anthony Martial give Manchester United fans a reminder of his mercurial talent and then told the young Frenchman: ‘Listen to me, not your agent.’
Martial, who celebrated New Year's Eve with his girlfriend, crowned an excellent performance with United’s equaliser as they came from behind to beat Middlesbrough with two late goals at Old Trafford.
But the 21-year-old winger has endured a difficult first half of the season with limited opportunities under Mourinho, leading to his agent Philippe Lamboley revealing earlier this week that he would seriously consider an offer to join Sevilla on loan.
Anthony Martial hauled Manchester United level late on in their win over Middlesbrough
Martial (right) celebrates with his team-mates after scoring the leveller at Old Trafford
Martial poses with his girlfriend as he celebrates New Year's Eve following Saturday's win
Jose Mourinho has told Martial to listen to his advice, rather than that of his agent
Mourinho will not countenance such a move and has compared Martial’s situation with that of Henrikh Mkhitaryan who needed time for his season to take off.
While the United boss claimed that Mkhitaryan’s agent Mino Raiola had nothing but praise for his handling of the Armenian, he told Martial to ignore Lamboley.
‘I know that he is a top talent,’ said Mourinho. ‘I knew that Mkhitaryan was a top talent and I was not playing him.
‘Anthony needs to listen to me and not listen to his agent. He has to listen to me in training every day. Every feedback I give to players I give to improve players.
‘Almost every day, I was having Mkhitaryan’s agent calling me and saying “Mkhitaryan with you will be a better player – keep going”.
Martial pounced upon a Zlatan Ibrahimovic knock-down to get United on level terms
Before scoring, Martial had missed a chance and taken a nasty whack to the ankle
Martial has had a tough start to the season but has shown signs of rediscovering his form
‘With Martial, every day I read the newspaper: Martial goes to Sevilla, Martial goes on loan, he’s not happy. Martial needs to listen to me.’
Martial was United’s top scorer last season following his £36million move from Monaco, and was voted the best young player in Europe a year ago.
But until yesterday the man who lit up the gloom under Louis van Gaal following his £36million move from Monaco seemed to have lost his spark.
There appeared to be a spring in his step again and he was keen to get on the ball and run at Middlesbrough’s defence.
Martial’s appearance against Middlesbrough was only his eighth Premier League start
Martial gave Middlesbrough defender Calum Chambers a difficult afternoon at Old Trafford
Martial clattered the bar with a 30-yard shot in the first half before providing the run and cross for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score with an effort that was controversially ruled out.
The winger looked to have blown his big chance late on when Victor Valdes denied him from close range, but he made no mistake when Ibrahimovic nodded down for him to equalise in the 85th minute.
‘He played, he created, he scored, he fought,’ said Mourinho. ‘I think he was very positive. He’s a player with amazing condition to be a top player.’
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