Rio Ferdinand believes Anthony Martial must fight for his place at Manchester United if the club bring in another striker.
The Frenchman has enjoyed his most profitable season in terms of goal-scoring in five years at Old Trafford, but MEN Sport understands United are keen to sign a striker in the summer transfer window. Recent names to be linked have included RB Leipzig's Timo Werner and Lyon forward Moussa Dembele, while United have also been touted for an ambitious swoop for Tottenham and England talisman Harry Kane.
A striker signing would threaten Martial's position as United's first choice centre-forward, a role Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave him after selling Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan last summer.
Former United defender Ferdinand, in a recent Q&A with fans, laid down the gauntlet for Martial to rise to the challenge of a new striker coming in.
He said: “Big clubs you’ve got to fight, that’s it. That’s all it boils down to. Can you fight for your position? That’s it.
“You’ve got to accept there’s going to be an opportunity for someone else to come in and play.
“But then your performances have got to outweigh everything. You’ve got to make sure the manager knows.”
Martial has scored 16 goals in 34 appearances for United this season in all competitions, making him the club's second top goal scorer at the time of the campaign suspension - due to coronavirus - behind Marcus Rashford.
United signed Odion Ighalo on loan from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in January, though it remains to be seen if the Nigerian will stay permanently at the club.
