Graeme Souness likened Anthony Martial to Paul Pogba as he lamented the Manchester United forward's attitude in the wake of Sunday's defeat by Brighton.
The Red Devils fell to a 2-1 loss to the Seagulls at Old Trafford after Pascal Gross struck twice in quick succession. Alexis Mac Allister scored an own-goal midway through the second half to give the hosts late hope of snatching a point, but ultimately this was futile.
United lined up for their Premier League opener without a recognised striker and with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in the absence of Martial, who succumbed to a thigh injury. The 26-year-old only scored once in 12 appearances while on loan at Sevilla earlier this year, so Souness believes the fact his team missed him so much speaks volumes about their issues.
"In United's case, they've not really recruited any game changers," the Liverpool legend told talkSPORT. "When you are talking about 'we are going to miss Martial', how many opportunities is that young man going to get to be a Manchester United player?
"He's proven already to me he's not for Man United. He can't deal with the pressure of playing at Man United. Man United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. They are in a cup final every time they go out and play a game of football. As Liverpool are, as Chelsea are as Manchester City are now. Welcome to the big league."
Souness suspects there are similarities between Frenchmen Martial and Pogba. The latter left United to return to Juventus at the expiry of his contract this summer. "It's a bit like Pogba," the pundit added on Martial. "I see both of them and I see players in them and qualities that few players possess.
Is Anthony Martial good enough to make the grade at Manchester United? Have your say in the comments!
"But it's on their terms and they pick and choose when they use it. When you play for a big club you cannot be like that. When you are at a big club you play in a cup final every week.
"These players are not up for that, they're not up for the fight. There's no good being a great player in training or being a great player once every six or seven games.
"You're at a big club because you want to win things and want to be challenging all the time. In basic terms, they are dodgy. They are not people you can rely on, end of. I don't think you can rely on Martial any more, not that you ever could. He's been far too hit or miss."
