José Mourinho has backed Manchester United forward Anthony Martial and declared he has "faith" in the Frenchman.

Mourinho gave United supporters a major hint about his fourth and final transfer target, who has evaded the club all summer thus far with the deadline less than two weeks away.

Potential incomings were once again a topic of questioning for Mourinho during his pre-Swansea City press conference at Carrington on Friday morning, but more about how they’d affect promising winger Martial.

Mourinho has "faith" in Martial

It has been thought that United have been chasing a left-winger, more specifically Inter Milan’s Ivan Perišić, which understandably spelt danger for Martial, who suffered a mild case of ‘second season syndrome’ throughout the 2016/-7 campaign.

After blitzing onto the English football scene as an 18-year-old, the Frenchman was top scorer in his debut 10 months at Old Trafford, netting 17 times in all competitions, but the rise of Marcus Rashford has stifled his development.

However, Mourinho has revealed his "faith" in Martial as well as confirming that his final target wasn’t a "pure winger" because he already has them, but in fact, a player who’d allow him to play three at the back "with the wing-backs."

This would suggest that the Portuguese boss is wanting another full-back instead of a wide attacker, which could add fuel to the flames of rumours linking Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose or Paris-Saint Germain right-back Serge Aurier with a move to M16.

An improved season from the winger is expected

Now that his manager has publicly reassured him of a place in his plans for the upcoming season, Martial should now have the platform to replicate the scintillating form of his first year in the Premier League.

And he made a pretty good start on Sunday in the 4-0 opening weekend romp over West Ham United, after scoring and assisting a goal despite being on the pitch for just over 10 minutes.

"He is one of the players who will have a better season than last season," Mourinho said. "I look at my players and I’m sure some will be better than last season and Anthony is one of those, for sure."

Manchester United make the trip down to South Wales this weekend, where it looks like 21-year-old Martial will be battling Rashford for a starting place on the left side of the attack as the Reds search for a second consecutive victory.

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Alex Turk
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