Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that he was blown away by the quality of Anthony Martial after first training with the Manchester United winger, but believes he hasn't yet reached his full potential.
Former United striker Berbatov was a teammate of Martial's in 2015 when the Frenchman first broke into the Monaco side as a teenager and was amazed at what he saw.
They were only together for a season when Martial earned his big money moved to Old Trafford, where he initially set the Premier League alight - famously scoring on his debut against Liverpool.
Since then, however, Martial hasn't really built upon his early potential and has been largely inconsistent as he struggled for two seasons under Jose Mourinho.
There was an initial up-turn in form when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of the club which earned Martial a new five-year contract, but since then his form has dwindled once again and he has come in for criticism for a perceived lack of effort.
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Berbatov has explained what the 23-year-old needs to get back to his best.
"He’s a quiet guy. He’s like me, he keeps to himself. That’s not a bad thing," the Bulgarian told the Metro.
"He has not reached the level yet where I think he can be. The first training session at Monaco I was going: ‘What the f**k?!’
"As a football player you can see straight away. You recognise straight away and this guy he had something. ‘He needs someone to say: “listen this is not the right way, over there is the right way if you want to be the best."
Berbatov also defended another one of his former teammates after a dire run of form.
Goalkeeper David De Gea has come in for criticism after making multiple errors in goal recently, the latest of which led to Chelsea's equaliser in the 1-1 draw on Sunday.
With his contract only having a year remaining speculation is linking De Gea with a move away from Old Trafford, but Berbatov believes that United must keep him.
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"De Gea for me – I know him because he came when I was there – I can see the development he’s made from the time then to now,’ said Berbatov.
"He’s among the best in the world now. For him to stay is vital for the team. He gives them credibility.
"At the back the defenders know they have one of the best goalkeepers in the world behind them so they can stay calm."
