Paul Scholes opens up on Rashford and Martial concerns since Ibrahimovic left

Posted Thursday, December 03, 2020 by Dailystar.co.uk

Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has questioned whether Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial learnt anything from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has claimed that Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial have not developed into centre-forwards.

Scholes believes the pair are "both very dangerous wide players" and questioned whether they learnt anything from Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time at Old Trafford.

Edinson Cavani has now come in on a short term deal and Scholes is hopeful that Mason Greenwood can "take something from Cavani", claiming the teenager has "more of a chance than the other two to really develop into a proper No.9".

Speaking ahead of United's Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain on BT Sport, Scholes said: "We talked so many times about United not having a proper No.9.

Paul Scholes opens up on Rashford and Martial concerns since Ibrahimovic left
Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has questioned whether Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial learnt anything from Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Image: BT Sport)

"This lad [Cavani] is a proper No.9 but it might only be for one or two years. We had the same with Zlatan a few years ago. Are we any further down the road?"

Fellow United legend Rio Ferdinand replied: "I think Cavani, he would say himself, he's a stop gap, he's here to help support these guys. I think they've got to be sponges and take on a lot of elements of his game. That's what I would love to see."

Scholes claimed that Mason Greenwood is more likely to become a "proper No.9" than Rashford and Martial (Image: Getty Images)

To which Scholes responded: "What my point is, Rio, exactly what I said about Zlatan with Marcus and Martial - have they developed into centre-forwards, No.9s?

"I think they both like to think they're No.9s but to me they're both very dangerous wide players. Did they take anything from Zlatan? I'm not sure they did.

"Now we hope Mason does take something from Cavani. I think Mason, out of the three of them, he's the best finisher. He's got more of a chance than the other two to really develop into a proper No.9."

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has previously admitted that Cavani offers something different to Rashford, Martial and Greenwood, saying: "To have a focal point in the box, that's important for us.

"We've not really had that since Romelu [Lukaku] left, Anthony, Marcus and Mason are different types of forwards. It gives us a great balance and mix and we wanted to mix it up and Edinson had a great impact."