Manchester United has a reputation for overpaying players with absurd contracts and for paying outrageous prices in the transfer market.

Even though Erik ten Hag’s club is now enjoying a four-game winning streak, they are still sixth in the Premier League. This wouldn’t be a major problem if they played regularly.

Hojlund, Rasmus. Manchester United
Sir Jim Ratcliffe intends to address this issue immediately, with the goal of eliminating certain people by the summer.

So let’s examine a fringe player who has cost the team millions of dollars over the years.

The pay of Anthony Martial

After spending £58 million to join United from Monaco in 2015, Anthony Martial was an immediate hero when he scored against Liverpool on his debut.

Under every manager, the composed finisher saw a lot of action, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought out the best in him, as he scored 17 goals in the 2019–20 Premier League season.

United Manchester Anthony Martial 
The France striker was given a new deal by the Norwegian manager, which pays £13 million a season without extras, because of his outstanding play.

This summer’s contract is about to expire, but it appears Ratcliffe is happy to let him walk while he finishes a major purge and won’t extend an offer to him.

Martial’s salary in relation to Rasmus Hojlund

Martial has not improved the team’s performance this season; he has only started five league games and scored one goal in 13 Premier League contests. But for years, the former Monaco star has been a player who has divided the fan base; journalist Rob Blanchette called the player “embarrassing” for his lack of effort and movement.

The 28-year-old’s worst flaw is his lack of availability, which has plagued him throughout his career due to an apparent never-ending sequence of injuries.

Manchester United’s serhou-guirassy-anthony-martial-opinion
His last Red Devils game was a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth in December; he has subsequently missed every game due to an illness and a groyne problem.

In actuality, though, Rasmus Hojlund would be the starting striker regardless of the number nine’s setbacks; the Dane has cemented himself as the starting striker, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to score in six straight games and amassing 13 goals in all competitions.

Martial is one of United’s biggest earners, making £165k a week more than Hojlund, despite missing almost 100 games during his career.

Hojlund versus Martial

Statistics

Martial

Hojlund

Pay P/W

£250,000

£85,000.

rank of squad salary

Fourth

17th

Played games

19

30

Objectives

2.

Thirteen

Helps

2.

2.

Statistics from Transfermarkt & Capology

As you can see, Martial has drained the team dry over the past few seasons, with little return on the pitch to justify the expenditure. In actuality, a player loses value to the team the moment they are unable to make themselves available.

Having a solid backup plan is essential to preventing a sharp decline in quality, especially while competing at the highest level. However, for United, that isn’t the true in nearly every position on the pitch, not just with strikers.

His position at the top of the summer outgoing list is hardly surprising.