Football news - Anthony Martial on borrowed time at Manchester United after Odion Ighalo arrival

Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the presence of Bruno Fernandes was not enough for the home side to break down a stout defence, but his obvious qualities highlighted many of the limitations of the squad and manager.

While Luke Shaw was understandably concentrating on the threat of Adama Traore, on the other wing Aaron Wan-Bissaka was afforded plenty of room on the right. With it, he managed a single dangerous cross as the team got desperate in the dying stages. Diogo Dalot headed a fraction wide to disappoint the crowd, but Wan-Bissaka should have been providing these chances throughout.

Ahead of the defence, Fred offered plenty of running and no creativity, as usual. His technique prevents him from giving much more than high energy performances that obstruct the opposition. Partnered by Andreas Pereira, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had two deep midfielders who could do nothing provocative with the ball - they could barely pass it forward with any reliability.

On the wings, Juan Mata’s lack of pace would not have been such a bother if Wan-Bissaka provided anything on the overlap. On the other wing, the right-footed Daniel James looks exhausted after a promising first half to the season, but he cuts in to the centre too. There was no way for United to stretch the play or the opposition defence, which led to two players being the decisive duo for the hopes of breaking through to goal: Martial and Fernandes.

Fernandes had a bright first half. He prodded and cajoled his teammates into moving. Asking for the ball in space and suggesting to his colleagues that they might want to try the same thing when he was in control. Obviously, given their years of coasting after one manager and then another, and given Solskjaer’s rudimentary tactics, this fell on deaf ears. United have not attacked with intelligence since the early stages of David Moyes’ time, before the whole hollow edifice crumbled.

In the second half, he was pulled back deeper. Either that was Solskjaer’s choice or the midfielder’s, but it is the manager’s job to correct such mistakes. He was taken away from the danger area, from the place on the pitch that he was at his most threatening at Sporting Lisbon.

While Fernandes was lively, Martial was catatonic. The French striker failed to run the channels to move defenders out of the way for other players, or to offer an outlet for long or through balls. At the same time, he completely failed to hold the ball up with his back to goal. He bought a couple of free kicks with neat spins around markers, but for the most part the ball bounced off him or he simply released it to the opposition. It would not be unfair to wonder if the side would have been more coherent not if he were replaced, but if he simply walked off the pitch.

Worryingly for Martial, there are replacements on the sidelines. Mason Greenwood is too young to play every game, and Solskjaer clearly does not want to hold back his talent by exacting too much pressure on him. Had he more games under his belt, he would surely be the first choice. His brief substitute appearance on Saturday was much more threatening than Martial's contribution.

By the time United are back from their winter break, new loan signing Odion Ighalo should be in England and sharp enough to start. As a United fan, it is hard to think he will let his chance slip. He is unlikely to be signed permanently, so he knows he has only four months to be remembered.

The 30-year-old striker left Britain after his early impressive form for Watford tailed off, so it would be wrong to expect anything exceptional. Martial’s problem is that he has set such a low bar. To improve the side, all Ighalo needs to do is stay active across the front, give Fernandes somebody to aim at, and be able to bring those to his left and right into the game. He has shown himself moderately competent at all disciplines. Not brilliant, but capable. Martial has show rare moments of exquisite skill - that is simply not enough anymore. If he does not focus on his form in these circumstances, then he probably never will.