Manchester United are about to discover the true value of having Odion Ighalo – Tyrone Marshall

In his own days as a prolific centre forward for Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have taken umbrage at the idea of scoring a hat-trick on a Wednesday and being on the bench on a Saturday, but that is the fate that is almost certain to befall Anthony Martial at Norwich tomorrow.

It will come as little surprise to the Frenchman, who knows it is a squad game now and with the fixtures coming thick and fast rotation is going to be vital between now and, hopefully, the FA Cup final on August 1.

Having scored his first senior hat-trick and moved to 19 for the season Martial would want to start again, to keep his momentum and confidence flowing, but Solskjaer knows the value of having enough strikers at a club to keep everyone on their toes.

In his playing days he was competing with Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham for starts and while the current crop don’t quite have that depth of quality, the loan signing of Odion Ighalo has been transformative for United’s attack.

The Nigerian has scored in all of his three starts for the club so far and every time he emerges from the bench he looks a threat in the penalty box. Solskjaer will have no concerns at resting Martial at Carrow Road in the FA Cup quarter-final and starting Ighalo.

The 31-year-old has been a revelation since his January loan move from Shanghai Shenhua and this weekend United might find out just how big a move it was to successfully extend that deal at the end of May, when Ighalo was initially due to return to China.

Without him United are desperately short of alternative options in attack, but with a trusted back-up centre forward it allows Solskjaer to rotate his men. That is why he will almost certainly tell Martial that a hat-trick against Sheffield United is only good enough for the bench here.

The thinking behind that makes perfect sense. United follow a long trip to Norwich on Saturday with another long journey to Brighton and Hove Albion. The games are relentless at the moment and Solskjaer will want his No. 9 fresh for Premier League duty, especially with a top-four finish now a realistic proposition. More performances like Wednesday night will make it a certainty.

Now imagine a scenario where United had failed to extend Ighalo’s loan. Solskjaer would have little choice but to start Martial again but by the time the Brighton game arrived his legs would be feeling the quickfire return to action and his sharpness would be dulled. That won’t be the case if he plays second fiddle to Ighalo at Norwich.

The striker has proved a more than effective back-up for Martial and he offers a different kind of threat to United as his goals have shown. When he does depart at the end of January 2021 he will have proved the value of having a back-up striker in the ranks and competition for places.

Martial’s performance against Sheffield United was his most complete yet as a United No. 9, but he should still be dropped to the bench this weekend. But Brighton beware the fresh French forward.