Anthony Martial was widely criticised following Manchester United’s draw with Wolves – and Danny Murphy says the Red Devils should have sold HIM instead of Romelu Lukaku.

Martial was chosen to lead the line on Saturday by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was unable to pick deadline day signing Odion Ighalo due to registration rules or Marcus Rashford through injury.

For Solskjaer it was the choice between Martial or Mason Greenwood, the starlet who is promising but clearly not ready for consistent Premier League action.

Getty Images - Getty Martial got the nod over Mason Greenwood – but he did not impress

The boss made the wise choice, calling France international Martial into action as United’s no.9 for Wolves’ visit to Old Trafford.

But the wise choice did not pay off, with Martial failing to record a single shot during a lethargic performance in a fairly poor match.

He has been slammed for his performance – with many saying Martial is doing a disservice to the numerous legends who have led the line for United in their history – while Solskjaer has also been criticised for selecting as his no.9 someone who clearly prefers playing out wide than in a central role.

And this is Manchester United’s biggest problem, according to Danny Murphy – they’ve got too many players who all prefer the same position.

“Martial’s strength is when he gets the ball to feet he is good,” said former Liverpool midfielder Murphy on talkSPORT. “His natural instinct is ‘give me the ball because I’m good with the ball’.

“So you’re asking him to play a role that doesn’t suit him.

“Manchester United’s biggest problem is that Martial, Rashford and [Daniel] James are all best off the left.

“James should be able to adapt to play on the right with his pace, but Martial is always better on the left and Rashford was having his best goal return from the left when he uses his pace to dribble and run at people.”

Murphy claims United made a huge mistake last summer when they decided to get rid of Romelu Lukaku – a true, natural no.9 – and keep Martial around instead.

He added: “This is why I’m surprised they gave Martial a five-year deal [last January]. I would have been thinking of keeping Lukaku and maybe selling Martial.

“If you’re going to play Martial now you play him on the left, while Rashford is out. And you put the new fella in, because Ighalo is more of a no.9 – he’ll run behind and he’s good in the box.”

Former Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara also joined talkSPORT on Monday morning and was quizzed on Martial’s performance.

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“He just frustrates me,” began O’Hara, “because I look at him and think he could just be so good with the ability he’s got.

“For me, if you’re playing as a no.9 for Manchester United you’ve got to have everything. First and foremost you need work rate and desire to hold the ball up and bring others into play and be a nuisance.

“As a centre-half you’d probably dream about playing against Martial.”

Those defending Martial say it is unfair to compare the Frenchman with previous Old Trafford greats as he is, at 24, still relatively young, while he’s also being forced to play in a position he is clearly not all that suited for.

O’Hara disagrees with those defending him, however.

“No [it is not unfair], because when they brought him in they paid £50m [£36m rising to £58m] for him,” he added.

Jamie O'Hara says Anthony Martial is not good enough for Man United

“He’s been there long enough now to have stamped his authority on the football club and be like ‘I’m the main man’ – but he just hasn’t done it.

“They brought him in to be one of those superstars, and he hasn’t fulfilled his potential in terms of what he could achieve for the club.

“You can say they have to be realistic, but it’s still Manchester United.”

Watch clips of Danny Murphy and Jamie O’Hara on talkSPORT, above…