Just as AS Monaco were about to take on Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s late Ligue 1 game, news broke from respected journalist Mohamed Bouhafsi that Manchester United had made a €50 million bid for France international striker, Anthony Martial.
During most transfer windows Bouhafsi is rarely wrong, but that doesn’t mean that the information he is being fed is of the same quality. Everyone has the sources, and sometimes they can be wide of the mark.
Manchester United have offered €50m for Monaco striker Anthony #Martial. Talks ongoing. http://t.co/bcKOLoHHpi
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) August 30, 2015
Manchester United certainly need a striker, but it would be naive to suggest that the 19-year-old Monaco forward is the right player to push their club forward.
Quite often now, deals for players costing between €20-30 million are put into the category of paying for potential, but when you get to €50 million, you need someone who can make a difference straight away – that’s not Anthony Martial.
Especially for a club like Manchester United.
When you look at the fees being paid for Memphis Depay at United, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling at Manchester City and even Heung-Min Son going to Tottenham Hotspur, and then compare it to what Martial would bring, it makes absolutely no sense from the people in charge of United’s transfer policy.
If, and it is still very unlikely, United did make a €50 million move for Martial, you have to question who is making these decisions and what they are basing their valuations on.
Undoubtedly, Martial is one of the best young talents to come out of France in years, but when Spurs were linked with a €25 million move, that was deemed excessive by some, doubling it, is madness.
After making a €5m million move from Lyon in 2013 it was suggested that Martial might be better served moving out on loan to another Ligue 1 club to earn some playing time, before honing his skills at Monaco. Then 18, the young striker was still coming to terms the surprise transfer.
Last season, while growing and developing in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League, you could see definite signs of improvement in his all-round game.
In the last 12 games of the season the striker scored eight goals as Monaco claimed third place, he also showed maturity in the Champions League clashes against Arsenal and Juventus.
Martial has made great strides during the 2014/15 season after an indifferent start to the campaign. The fuse was lit in Monaco’s game against PSG, in which Martial, coming off the bench, struck very late to earn a point for the visitors. Slowly and surely, the young striker built up playing time, before being handed more starting roles towards Christmas.
Martial played his part in the France under-21 squad and on Thursday Didier Deschamps rewarded the forward with his first call-up to the full international squad. France have had concerns for the future of their international strikers for a number of years now, and Martial looks to be one of the best young forwards the country has produced; under Jardim’s guidance, his future is bright.
Martial started 2014 as a young, and probably too naïve, striker on the periphery of a Monaco side that still contained the likes of Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez. His performances, alongside a nucleus of talented youngsters last season have helped comfortably to ease the loss of the Colombian duo.
Adept at running the flanks, Martial is strong despite his wiry frame. Impressive with the ball at his feet, he then has the upper-body strength and speed to power past opponents.
Recently we have seen more of his ability to play through the middle and take up the role as a No.9 – his movement is smart, finding space in the penalty area regardless of how many defenders are in his way.
Martial will flash to the near post, peel off to the back or drop to the penalty spot, looking to finish with either his left or his right-foot.
Where Martial excelled most was when Monaco play their fast-paced counter-attacking style. Hanging off the shoulder of the centre-backs, Les Monegasques had the talents of Joao Moutinho and Bernardo Silva to pick the passes and Martial had the pace and calmness to finish one-on-ones.
There are no real weaknesses to his game, all he needs is to find consistency and to fine tune the already raw attributes he already possesses.
At still only 19 years old, Martial is already considerably ahead of his peers. France are lucky to have such a young striker who is getting a taste of top-level domestic and European football. The future is bright, but that future only stays bright if he is allowed to be nurtured in the right environment.
Spending €50 million to bring him to Old Trafford put unnecessary pressure on his young shoulders and could ruin what is a very promising career.