Every transfer window will have its own twists and turns and big headlines. And the recently concluded window was no different. With some big names switching teams and a few last minute snubs made the summer transfer window very active. While the English clubs made more news in bringing big names to their league, one of the biggest talking points of the window was the arrival of “The Surprise striker”.
Manchester United entered the transfer market with improvements and replenishments to be made in lots of areas of the game. Van Gaal seemed focused on keeping only the ones that had that extra bit of skill and determination to go the long way. United were quick off the blocks signing Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Matteo Darmian quite early in the transfer window. What followed was a long list of exits which included their British transfer record signing Angel di Maria to PSG after lots of speculations. When Van Gaal mentioned that Rooney can bring his team the goals, most united fans were happy to see the star leading the attack and raised their expectations to new levels. But a few quiet matches for Wayne Rooney led to an interesting press meet in which Van Gaal mentioned that there ‘might’ be a surprise signing coming.
Speculations and stories revolved round Manchester United and linked almost all the strikers to a move to Old Trafford. With the so called u-turn of Pedro and the status of their star goalkeeper David de Gea in the balance, United fans started to feel the heat to an extent. But most of the stories remained as stories and speculations itself.
With the arrival of the deadline day, United announced the arrival of a 19 year old French forward from AS Monaco. And what raised the eye-brows was the fee. The teenager was signed for a whopping initial £36 million. And so, Anthony Martial became the highest paid teenager in footballing history. This was indeed a surprise signing for many as Martial was mostly an unknown quantity. So, Sportsnetra has decided to dig deep and let you know more about the big money teenager Anthony Martial who has already been tagged the next Thierry Henry.
Anthony Martial was born in Essonne. He started his career at Co Les Ulis. Co Les Ulis is known to be starting ground for players such as Patrice Evra and Thierry Henry himself. The highly talented attacker was spotted by Lyon and was drafted into their youth set-up. Martial progressed his way through the academy to earn himself first team call up. AS Monaco decided to sign the forward for €5 million with add-ons. He made his first appearance for the senior team at an age of 17 and even scored on his first start. Martial netted 9 goals in 36 games in his second season. And so with 10 league goals to his name, Martial was signed by Manchester United for an astonishing amount. So, is this a case of panic-buy? Or could this be a bargain buy in a few years’ time? That’s the question that everyone will have their eyes set on.
The transfer surpassed the earlier record which was set by Luke Shaw also on his way to Manchester united from Southampton. The money splashed by Manchester United on young players has attracted lots of attention in recent times. With United managing to land World cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger for a low fee and capturing Argentina’s no.1 goalkeeper Sergio Romero for free, the window was seen as a job well done. But the investment on Anthony Martial has managed to raise a few eye-brows and has invited mixed opinions about the club’s transfer policy. The last time United splashed the money to bring a fairly unknown teenager saw the arrival of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo for a fee of £12.24m who was interestingly handed the famous no.7 shirt vacated by David Beckham.
What does Anthony Martial bring to Manchester United?
The failure of Wayne Rooney to do justice to the lone striker role has played its part in United looking for a new striker to partner him. United definitely lacked the penetration in the final third in almost all the games so far and have missed the burst of pace up front at times. One attribute that Anthony Martial will bring to this United team would be his pace. He is known to be a very quick player both with and without the ball. This injection of pace could be the missing piece in Van Gaal’s jigsaw. This could also help Wayne Rooney in getting back to doing what he does best in the pockets of spaces. So, it would be interesting to see what role Van Gaal would give the young Frenchman. His pace could also be used in a more wider role that could bring Mata to his more natural position.
There is no doubt that the price-tag on Martial is a very surprising one. But if the gamble pays off for United and Van Gaal, it could well signal the start of an entirely new chapter in United’s fairytale. We would have to wait and see if Martial could use this platform and stage to announce himself on the world stage or would this hefty price-tag play a role in his mind and could pressurize the teenager.
