Anthony Martial has been in stunning form this season. The talented French teenager was brought by Manchester United from Monaco for an eye-watering fee of £36m but so far the investment looks every bit worth the exorbitant price.
United fans were expecting Martial to be good but not even the most optimistic of Manchester United supporters would not have predicted the stunning performances coming from the young Frenchman week in and week out. Martial has long been compared to Thierry Henry but stats show that the forward can be compared pretty favourably to a former United fan favourite Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo who had an astonishing career at Manchester United had a pretty modest start at United taking 39 games to notch his first five goals. Martial, on the other hand, had no such problem settling in at Old Trafford scoring his first five goals within nine matches. Martial has been the best player of United this season and has shown maturity which belies his young age.
What makes Martial’s performances all the more impressive is the fact that he came into a Manchester United team struggling to recapture its lost glory while Ronaldo was involved with the United team at the peak of its powers with stalwarts like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville running the show for United’s most successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo, Rooney, Shaw and Martial – Manchester United have never been shy of investing in talented teenagers
Martial’s transfer in the summer for £36m made him the most expensive teenager in the football world. Louis Van Gaal, the manager of Manchester United had this to say about the transfer which raised many eyebrows:
“Martial is a wonderfully talented young player. He is not a panic buy. He is a player whom we have tracked from a long time and is someone who will be the future of Manchester United. I brought him here for Ryan Giggs."
Martial is in some illustrious company as the most expensive teenager with Luke Shaw, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo all being the most expensive teenagers when they were brought to Old Trafford.
Ronaldo arrived as a skinny teenager from Lisbon to Manchester and went on to create history. Martial, in comparison, has a strong physique, plays in a very mature manner and is already the lynchpin of this Manchester United side.
If Martial turns out at least half as successful as Cristiano Ronaldo, United will definitely feel that they have spent their money well
