Roy Keane believes the arrival of Odion Ighalo has sparked Anthony Martial into life at Man United
Manchester United‘s signing of Odion Ighalo has forced Anthony Martial to up his game at Old Trafford, according to club legend Roy Keane.
The Red Devils raised eyebrows by bringing in the former Watford forward on loan from Shanghai Shenhua in January, but the Nigerian has impressed after notching three goals for the club.
And Keane believes Ighalo has given the whole team a boost as well as providing a goal threat, raising the work rate of Frenchman Martial – who scored the opener in United’s 2-0 win over rivals Manchester City.
Anthony Martial scored the opener in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over rivals Manchester City
United legend Roy Keane praised Martial for raising his game since Odion Ighalo joined on loan
‘You’ve had a reaction as well from Martial,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘Sometimes a new striker comes in, you praise the new striker, but then that pushes the other lads.
‘There’s almost been a reaction from Martial, thinking: “Oh, I’ve got another player to fight with for my position”. And there’s been a good reaction.’
The former Monaco man has scored four times since Ighalo arrived on deadline day, and he has found the back of the net on 16 occasions in total this season – he’s also registered five assists.
United had previously been playing without a recognised senior forward after Marcus Rashford was ruled out through injury and no striker was brought in to replace him last summer.
Keane said another forward coming in can push a striker and get a good reaction from them
