Erik ten Hag 'ready to give Anthony Martial centre-forward chance'

Edinson Cavani's departure has left the Red Devils short of options in the final third of the field, while Cristiano Ronaldo is also allegedly attempting to leave Old Trafford this summer.

Ronaldo has not been in training with Man United this week due to a personal matter, and it is being reported that he will not travel with the club for their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

As a result, new head coach Ten Hag will have limited options at centre-forward, and according to Goal, Martial could be the player to benefit from Ronaldo's expected absence.

The report claims that Ten Hag will attempt to 'try to get a tune' out of the France international, who is back at Old Trafford this summer after an unsuccessful loan spell at Sevilla.

Having struggled for regular starts in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, Martial moved to Sevilla on loan in January, but a disappointing spell saw him manage just one goal and one assist in 12 appearances.

The 26-year-old still has two years left to run on his contract with the Red Devils, and he has been training with his parent club since the start of pre-season on June 27.

Martial has represented Man United on 269 occasions since his arrival from Monaco in 2015, finding the back of the net 79 times in all competitions, in addition to contributing 50 assists.

The attacker largely played off the left in the early stages of his career at Old Trafford, but he impressed as a centre-forward during the 2019-20 campaign, scoring 23 goals and registering 12 assists in 48 outings.

Martial only contributed four Premier League goals during the 2020-21 season, though, and he managed just one league goal in the first half of last term before joining Sevilla.

Man United had allegedly been planning to move the former Monaco youngster on this summer, with the club widely thought to be targeting a new centre-forward.

However, Ronaldo's desire to leave has reportedly led to the club changing their plans, with Martial now potentially staying with the club during the 2022-23 campaign.

Mason Greenwood remains suspended by the Red Devils, but Marcus Rashford will travel on the team's pre-season tour, and the Englishman is another option for Ten Hag through the middle.

Man United will fly out to Thailand on Friday, four days before their first pre-season friendly of the summer against Liverpool on July 12.

Tyrell Malacia recently became the club's first signing of the Ten Hag era, with the left-back arriving from Feyenoord, and the Dutchman could make his Red Devils debut against Liverpool.