Manchester United forward Anthony Martial’s absence from France’s World Cup squad is justified, according to Les Bleus legend Marcel Desailly.
The Frenchman clearly believes Martial is a level below those who did get into Didier Deschamps’ side, despite being one of a number of notable big name absentees from this summer’s tournament in Russia.
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The 22-year-old has just had a somewhat indifferent season for Manchester United, despite long being regarded as one of the most talented young players in Europe.
Still, many feel he’s under-rated and could shine in this more attacking France set-up, as opposed to the slightly more conservative approach deployed by Jose Mourinho.
That said, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Nabil Fekir, Thomas Lemar and Olivier Giroud also options in the front three, plenty of other good players would struggle to get into this side, so in a way Desailly arguably has a pretty valid point on Martial.
‘Martial, Lacazette and Kingsley Coman – that’s a lot of players, I agree,’ Desailly told Omnisport, as quoted by the Metro.
‘That’s a choice, that’s Didier’s one. He tried them during the European Championships. He may have realised that they were one level lower than what he was looking for.
‘Due to his philosophy and the way he chooses to use players together, he may have decided not to use them this time.’