Scholes insists 'The pressure is on Rooney - NOT Martial'

The France international has made a strong start to his Manchester United career, but it is the captain who needs to deliver the goals, according to a club legend

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says the pressure is on Wayne Rooney to score the goals that will keep the club in the Champions League and Premier League title race this season.

Louis van Gaal has deployed both Rooney and Anthony Martial in a central striker's role, with the 19-year-old scoring four goals in eight games since arriving at Old Trafford this summer.

But Scholes believes Martial's inexperience and a lack of options in attack mean Rooney must deliver this season.

"Martial is still a young player, he’s 19 years old, he didn’t come with the biggest reputation for being a really big goalscorer," Scholes told BT Sport. "I think the pressure is still on Wayne.

"When we [United] were at our best we had four strikers who could come in and score 25-30 goals. This team now doesn’t have that. There is a lot of pressure on him [Rooney]."

Former United player Owen Hargreaves, meanwhile, thinks Martial has all the attributes to become an important player for Van Gaal.

"What a player he is," Hargreaves said. "He has everything, that physique. I was amazed even in Eindhoven, for a 19-year-old to be able to pin the centre-backs, to be able to get the ball into feet and set people up.

"The most important thing for a young player is knowing when to do what on a football pitch, and he has that. He has a feel for where to be at the right times, and even against Wolfsburg he did the right things."