FORGET RASHFORD?

Understandably, the hype around Old Trafford of late has been more focused on Marcus Rashford than Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay.

Rashford's meteoric rise to prominence has been aided by good fortune, whether that be through poor form of others or the brutal injury crisis the club has suffered. Martial was one of the players whose fitness set-back allowed the teenager to appear on the scene in such spectacular fashion against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal, yet the Frenchman is still the real prospect that United fans should be drooling over.

Martial and Memphis Depay are, if you ignore all the propaganda, two of the most promising young players in world football. Depay's domination of the Eredivisie last season saw him pick up several awards, as he scored 22 and assisted five in just 30 league games. The Dutchman was a brilliant acquisition for United and an indifferent first campaign should not change the overwhelming view that he will become a world star in the near future. His own attitude has been questioned at times, but recent performances suggest that the Dutch youngster has everything in his game to become a world-class wide player. Comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo do not help him in any way and Depay will want to be remembered as his own man, rather than a player trying to emulate the Portuguese winger.

Martial has, for the most part, out-performed Depay during this season. The Frenchman's dramatic entrance on his debut against Liverpool will live long in the memory - even if only for Martin Tyler's commentary.

As with any youngster, performances can be patchy. Between his goals against Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow, Martial went 10 matches without a goal for club and country, the sort of barren spell that would create all sorts of speculation for a more established player.

There is no sure fire way to guarantee consistent performances from either of Martial or Memphis, but they must both be feeling the pressure of Rashford's success. Although the feel good story of the moment may take pressure off the two in the short-term, it is seeing people ask questions of the effectiveness of the big money stars. However, the reality is more simple than this. United invested last summer for the long-term, on the whole, whilst Rashford has shot to prominence in spectacular fashion, the glimpses of Martial and Memphis' brilliance show there is light at the end of the long, dark tunnel for Manchester United. Martial's potential has been more noticeable throughout this season, whilst Memphis' Eredivisie brilliance of 2014/15 does not just disappear into the ether.

For Memphis in particular, the team's poor form has been detrimental to his own development. At the peak of his powers at Eindhoven, the Dutch winger was shooting around five times per match, whereas he is only getting two shots off per game in the Premier League this season. There are obvious factors to cause this; playing in a side with higher quality and better reputations is going to make you less wary of pulling the trigger, but it really settles on how few chances United have created this season. Wayne Rooney is only shooting 2.6 times per PL game, whilst Juan Mata isn't even managing to have a pop twice per match. United's fundamental tactical flaws are not the fault of Memphis or Martial.

Top four football is possible for the Red Devils this season, even a Europa League triumph is possible, yet the fans are pessimistic. Van Gaal has lost backing from swathes of the Old Trafford faithful and they are overlooking some of the great talent they are blessed with. The Dutch manager has clearly been at fault for some of the club's failings this season, but the signings of Martial and Memphis should always be recognised for the great additions they are, whether they succeed or not.

If a player fails, it does not have to mean that the person who signed them was at fault. Very few people would've turned down signing Memphis and Martial last summer and United fans need t