When in doubt, spend, spend your way out of trouble. If it’s Man Utd and reports are to be believed, an astronomical $55m on a 19 year old striker from AS Monaco.
Anthony Martial’s credentials rest solely on the fact he scored 32 goals in 21 matches as part of the Lyon youth set up. He was signed to AS Monaco for $5.6m in 2013 and his scoring output of 13 goals in 64 appearances is not shabby for someone so young but does it warrant a mark up of almost a 1000%? For the record, Didier Deschamps rates him highly and he earned his first national call up for the up coming matches against Portugal and Serbia. He’s been compared to Thierry Henry and was the top scorer for an U20 in all 5 big leagues with 9 goals last season.
Martial can play on either wing and down the centre but his preference like Henry is to play on the left. Good bit of acceleration and power but disturbingly, he shares a proclivity with Memphis Depay to cut inside which can make defending him easier. There is also that Angel Di Maria inspired heart shaped celebration.
Raheem Sterling, a year older than Martial, raised eyebrows to the roof when City sprayed $77m on his signing. The upside is he’s already scored for City and created an assist. For a bit of perspective, his fees become less of a distraction when the side is having no problems scoring. In Martial’s case, he comes into a Man Utd squad struggling to find the net and goalscoring a chore because Louis Van Gaal’s imprimatur is dominating a game with scoring goals a secondary narrative.