How Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used Cristiano Ronaldo to convince Anthony Martial to sign the new Man Utd contract

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told Anthony Martial that he could imitate Cristiano Ronaldo while staying at Manchester United.

Martial pledged his future to United on Thursday by signing a new five-year contract worth £ 175,000 a week.

The French striker looked set to leave United this summer after falling out of favor with his former boss, Jose Mourinho.

But Acting boss Solskjaer said he persuaded Martial to stay at United saying he could be a star at the club – just like Ronaldo.

When asked if he could emulate Ronaldo, who spent six brilliant years at United before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009, Solskjaer replied, "Of course, it's up to any player to decide if you decide how to develop your own career.

"Cristiano was the best, as he has changed now, it is the player on which you must embody and you must have more challenges in front of you.

"I talked to Anthony about my experience in this club and what he could accomplish in this club.As I have said many times, I'm here to guide players up to ###############################################################> 39 in the summer.

"You can talk about Cristiano's career, what he's done, his background and all the fantastic players we have, so I sat down with Anthony and he wants to be part of that. that the club has a top player there.

"I've been here for 15 years, coach, player, coach, and I know how much this club can contribute to your career.I think being honest with him, it's the best place to be I made my career here, it was easy to sell the club to Anthony, but he knows what we are capable of.

"The agreement confirms that we are happy, with him, we believe in him, he has fantastic potential, he has had ups and downs here, he was the top scorer, he has evolved."

"As a young boy, moving abroad, it is not easy, but he knows that he will stay here for the future and I believe in him."

Martial scored 10 goals this season and Solskjaer challenged the 23-year-old French international to double that total and reach 20 goals in a single campaign for the first time in his career.

"It's a fantastic finisher, a great ability, he's young, he's smart, he knows his football," said Solskjaer.

"I would like him to do some more races behind, but I have not seen a lot of players with fast feet and skills in the last third, so we're going to build his career and hopefully I'm going seize the opportunity with both feet.

"He has the ability [to score 20 goals] but as I said, I would like him to do some more races late because he does not miss his chance. "

Martial and Paul Pogba should both be fit for the trip from United to Leicester on Sunday.

Martial missed the 2-2 draw with Burnley but will train today, while Pogba should recover from a hard blow in the game.