Manchester United: 3 players who have a point to prove next season

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - MAY 24: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United shows his emotions as he celebrates victory following the UEFA Europa League Final between Ajax and Manchester United at Friends Arena on May 24, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - MAY 24: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United shows his emotions as he celebrates victory following the UEFA Europa League Final between Ajax and Manchester United at Friends Arena on May 24, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

These 3 players may not have had the best of seasons in last years edition of the Premier League and are highly unlikely to be sold by Manchester United but will have to prove themselves in order to kick on with their careers at Old Trafford.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Mkhitaryan himself wouldn’t deny the above statement surely after admitting that he must contribute more and wishing to score and assist more goals next season. The truth was that Manchester United were lacking a truly clinical player in front of goal last season and the Armenian would’ve made the perfect solution to this problem.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho probably already identified this area of the team as a weakness and sought to plug it with the man who was in double figures for his previous team Borussia Dortmund. He’s had a decent first season but Mkhitaryan must prove himself in more than just the Europa League and fans will be hoping to see plenty more of the 2015/16 Henrikh.

Manchester United's Anthony Martial
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 11 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Anthony Martial

The only player on our list who wasn’t bought in by Mourinho himself, Martial had an incredible first season at Manchester United and would’ve been solely responsible for saving their season had Marcus Rashford not appeared on the scene in February 2016. Simply put, it wasn’t hard for Manchester United fans to obsess with him.

He had everything they typically love to see in an attacker- pace, dribbling and finishing. Not to mention, the means to destroy Liverpool single-handedly on his debut. Martial then suffered a combination of second season syndrome, a new manager and therefore a new style as well as fatigue. However, it’s clearly that Mourinho loves the player but just wishes to see more of him as do the fans. Can he push on in 2017/18?

Paul Pogba

It’s a little critical to have Paul Pogba on this list but such is his reputation that fans expect more from him constantly. The reality is that he also had a decent first season and when he was out for a short period, Manchester United fans realised the quality he adds to the team. If it weren’t for some woeful finishing from his teammates, the Frenchman would easily be on double figures for assists.

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However, this isn’t what we want to see more of Pogba. What we want to see is him become more influential to the team and continue to grow in that sense. At Juventus, the club were winning long before he came and after he left too and while he was obviously important to them he wasn’t entirely crucial. That’s the goal for him next season- to become even more crucial to Mourinho’s Manchester United team.