Martial must avoid Januzaj scenario – Pallister

Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister has attempted to downplay the hype surrounding Anthony Martial following the 19-year-old’s sublime start to life at Old Trafford since joining the club from Monaco.

The Frenchman has netted five goals in nine appearances in all competitions for United this term and recently picked up the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month award for September.

Pallister, who was United between 1989 and 1998, has warned that Martial still has a long road ahead of him, though, if he is to become a top player and has mentioned Adnan Januzaj as an example of how a career can stall.

Januzaj hugely impressed when he broke into the first team at United in 2013-14, but has since failed to become a first-team regular and was shipped out on loan to Borussia Dortmund earlier this campaign.

“It’s really exciting to see a young player come into the team and have an immediate impact,” Pallister told 888Sport.

“But we saw that a couple of seasons ago with Januzaj, where we all went on about him being the new Ryan Giggs or the next Georgie Best. 

“In the early part of his career he took Manchester United by storm, but he’s flat-lined since then.

“So you’ve got to be really careful when you throw all these accolades at young players.”