Who is Man Utd's new €50m man?

Andrew Gibney 10:56 01/09/2015
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  • Can Anthony Martial silence the doubters at Man United?

    “I have a lot of options,” Van Gaal said following the goalless draw against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. "Although quantity is no guarantee of quality. “I have chosen Chicharito [Hernández], because he is another type from Rooney, and Fellaini, who is another type, then I have Wilson and Januzaj, so I don’t think we need a striker.”

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    They say it only takes a second to score a goal, and now it seems transfer strategies can change even quicker.

    On Sunday night, just as Monaco were lining up to face Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II, French radio station RMC reported that Manchester United had made a €50 million (Dh207m) bid for 19-year-old striker Anthony Martial.

    Just 14 hours later, the striker had been released from the France camp at Clairefontaine on the permission of Didier Deschamps and he was bound for Manchester Airport.

    As quick as the transfer move materialised, so did the fee – recent reports from RMC suggest that including bonuses, United had agreed with Monaco to pay €80 million (Dh331m) for a striker who has only scored 11 goals in Ligue 1 over 49 games for Les Monegasques.

    Martial's rise has been astronomic over the past 18 months, but this is a deal that has panic written all over it.

    You will be hard pushed to find anyone in Ligue 1 that doesn't rate Martial as a superb young striker, and someone that has the world at his very gifted feet, but there has to be a limit on what clubs will pay on the mere chance of a teenager reaching expected potential.

    "Martial's rise has been astronomic over the past 18 months, but this is a deal that has panic written all over it."

    To put the move into perspective, there wasn't even a guarantee that Martial would be playing his football at Monaco last season.

    On the opening day defeat to Lorient, Martial played only 16 minutes as ASM were beaten 2-1, and the following weekend he didn't feature as Jardim's men were soundly defeated 4-1 by Bordeaux. All was not well in the principality and it would get worse before it got better.

    Away at Nantes they would pick up their first points of the campaign in Radamel Falcao's last game for the club. However, questions were raised over Martial's future when after coming off the bench to replace Lucas Ocampos; Jardim subbed the substitute with just two minutes remaining.

    After the game he revealed that it was all tactical, but it didn't stop questions being asked.

    Once the squad began to understand Jardim's tactics and philosophy, Monaco went from strength to strength – building success on a solid defence that set up quick, decisive counter-attacks in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League.

    Quite often Dimitar Berbatov led the line, but Martial would either take his place, or play just off the Bulgarian on the left-flank.

    Against Arsenal at the Emirates, Martial played wide and his work rate, pace and alertness on the break was crucial to Monaco's 3-1 victory that night.

    Monaco's best play in the second half of the season came playing 4-2-3-1 with Martial leading the line. With Yannick Ferreira Carrasco on his left and either Nabil Dirar or Bernardo Silva to the right, ASM were built to play on the break and hits teams quick and fast.

    The French teenager finished the season superbly, scoring eight goals in the last 12 games – helping Monaco steal into third place.

    In those dozen games, Martial showed his full spectrum of ability. Pace and drive to play the channels – holding the shoulder of the last defender, once the likes of Joao Moutinho played him in, he had the maturity to put away the chances served his way.

    On Monday afternoon, Manchester United confirmed the departures of both Adnan Januzaj and Javier Hernandez to Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, leaving a gap to be filled in the attack. However, to get the best out of Martial, Van Gaal needs to use him properly.

    Manchester United are never going to play in the same counter-attacking style as Monaco, but that doesn't mean they can't utilise his attributes when given the chance to break quickly.

    Rather than ask him to play wide of Wayne Rooney or Juan Mata, he needs to be used through the centre and rely on the passing abilities of the players behind him.

    Where he will need to improve hugely is his ability to win headers in the penalty area. He offers little to no aerial presence despite his size. His movement is excellent, he will find space, but he is more comfortable with the ball play to his feet than asked to get on the end of crosses to the back post.

    Martial is not going to look to get the ball into feet and bring others into play – he is a striker that runs the channels and tries to find pockets of space.

    “He’s going to a great club," France boss Didier Deschamps told the French press on Monday. "We’ll follow his progress. He’s moving to a different planet. Galaxy, even. It’s up to him now to continue his progress and get game time”

    With Martial still only 19 years old, it is up to Van Gaal to make sure he helps the youngster carry the burden and pressure that comes with such a huge transfer fee. Even if the deal was completed for the original €50m – expectation would still be instantaneous.

    Play to his strengths and Martial has the potential to be out of this world, waste him and he could end up lost in space.

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