3 Manchester United players in recent memory who became instant hits

In football, the greatest teams in the world have built solid legacies around the big time players that have passed through their ranks. In English football, there is no better representation of this fact than Manchester United.

The 20-time English champions have one of the best youth academies in the world and over the years fans have seen the very best in the business don the famous red jersey for the club.

United have been at the top for the better part of the last two decades. Part of this consistency has been Sir. Alex Ferguson's influence and philosophy. He is the one who gave an opportunity to future United legends such as David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It is not easy for new players to come into the Premier League and perform at the highest level. The pressure of from the United supporters is immense but these three players quickly settled into the team and became sensations.

#3 Anthony Martial

Martial showed Liverpool defenders a clean pair of heels on his debut

The young French striker's ability and transfer from Monaco to Manchester United in 2015 was a bit of a mystery. The then United manager Louis Van Gaal teased the media about the acquisition of a new striker.

It was expected that it would be a big name signing. On deadline day, it was announced that United had signed a 19-year-old striker for a whopping 36 million pounds. This was a record transfer fee for a teenager at the time.

This drew a lot of criticism from the media and various quarters and he was not expected to make any kind of significant impact on the big stage. Any doubts over his ability were quashed on September 12, 2015.

Martial scored a sumptuous goal in on his debut against Liverpool. Barely a week later, he scored two goals as United won 3-2 against Southampton in the Premier League. At the end of the season, he finished as United's top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions.

#2 Marcus Rashford

Rashford had an impressive debut season for United

In the last couple of years, Rashford has been the poster boy of United's efficient youth system. Rashford had a knack of scoring debut goals.

He scored on his United debut in the Europa League, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, EFL Cup, England U-21 debut and England senior debut. His first appearance for United came as result of Martial's misfortune in the Europa League.

On February 25, 2016, Martial got injured in the warm-up of United's round of 32, second leg against FC Midttjylland. In the first leg, United lost 2-1 and was on the verge of an embarrassing elimination.

The teenager scored twice as United won 5-1 to advance. Barely three days later, he scored on his Premier League debut, this time a famous brace against Arsenal in United's 3-2 win at Old Trafford. In his first season, he finished with an impressive eight goals in 18 matches to become a crowd favorite.

#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Superstar Zlatan was a huge success in the first season.

The towering Swede signed for United at the age of 34 years. There were a lot of question marks over the deal with concerns on whether or not he would be able to make an impact at the grueling English Premier League.

On his competitive debut for United (August 7, 2016), Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed in United's late winner against Leicester City in the Community Shield.

On his Premier League debut inside a week, he scored a vicious strike from range as United beat Bournemouth 3-1. On his FA Cup debut in February 2017, he scored the winner in United's 2-1 fifth round win over Blackburn.

A week a later, he scored a brace as United clinched the EFL Cup following a dramatic 3-2 win over Southampton. Despite being injured in the final quarter of the 2016-2017 season, he finished with an impressive 28 goals in all competitions and was the club's top scorer.