Ole Gunnar Solskjaer calls on Man Utd forwards to take goalscoring burden off Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects goals to be spread around his attacking players this season, putting less pressure on last season’s top scorer Bruno Fernandes.

Fernandes plundered 28 goals in all competitions last season - a club record for a midfielder. He scored 18 in the Premier League, but Marcus Rashford (11) and Edinson Cavani (10) were the only other players to even reach double figures in the league.

United are hoping that Anthony Martial will rediscover the form that saw him score 17 Premier League goals in 2019/20, as opposed to just four in 2020/21, while Jadon Sancho has arrived to boost the attack, with Mason Greenwood also a year more experienced and Amad Diallo - assuming he doesn’t leave on loan - and Anthony Elanga also pushing for places.

"To be able to spread the goals across more forwards is going to be important for us. An attacking midfielder should not be the only player reaching 15 or 20 goals for us,” the United boss is quoted as saying by Sky Sports ahead of his team’s opener against Leeds.

“Anthony will score more goals than he did last season, Mason will develop, Edinson started late last season so will score more goals, Jadon will come in and chip in with goals so I feel confident that the burden is not just on Bruno to score.

“Of course, [Fernandes] is fantastic - his return in terms of goals and assists has been unbelievable since he came into the club. Marcus will, of course, miss out on the first couple of months of the season, which is not great for him, but he will come back fresh.

“Last season was disappointing but I am very confident in what I see from Anthony. I like what I see from him in training, what I see in the gym. He has the bit between his teeth again.”

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