Manchester United Transfer News: Anthony Martial Success Expected by Paul Pogba

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has talked up the club’s new signing Anthony Martial, backing the 19-year-old to be a big success in the Premier League.

Martial moved to Old Trafford on the final day of the summer transfer window in a deal that could top a whopping £58 million, per BBC Sport. But Pogba thinks the forward has the talent and temperament to thrive.

“I call him 'the young old man' because he's 19 and he's already so mature for his age,” said Pogba, per Alex Harris of the Daily Star. “I already knew him well, he has great ability and huge potential. I'm very happy for him. He's in the Premier League where he will train with great players and will keep improving.”

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Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe gave his assessment on how the forward will fare after making such a big move:

There are obvious comparisons to be drawn between Pogba and Martial. The former was also an extremely talented young player who found himself with the Red Devils at a young age, but he had to move on to Juventus to get game time and has subsequently gone on to become one of the finest midfielders in world football.

Martial probably won’t struggle for minutes at United, though, with manager Louis van Gaal having to deal with a scarcity of centre-forward options. But as we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports, the fee and the subsequent pressures that’ll accompany the youngster's move are unprecedented:

But if Martial is as level-headed as Pogba suggests, he’ll be in a much better position to cope. The Bianconeri star isn’t the only figure to have lauded the new United man’s mental strength either, with the striker’s brother hailing his leadership skills.

“Anthony has all the qualities needed to be Manchester United and France captain,” Dorian Martial told The Sun (h/t Liam Corless of the Daily Mirror). “He has always been a natural leader in a team—he’s been like that since he was six. My little brother isn’t someone who will shout at all the players around him. He doesn’t need to because he speaks with his incredible skills.”

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But Martial is still in the early stages of his career. Yes, the raw ability is there, as are the physical attributes needed to be a top-class striker. There is still plenty that can go wrong to knock his development off course, though. 

After all, as noted by Bleacher Report’s Ryan Bailey, the teenager hasn’t actually played that much football:

At the moment, Martial is not ready to lead a title charge for United. But given the lack of options, the money paid for him and the fact the teenager has been handed the No. 9 shirt for the Red Devils, there is a big danger that far too much will be expected of the young forward this season.

Ultimately, coping with these expectations will define how his career eventually pans out. Van Gaal will need to manage Martial astutely and resist the temptation to throw him in at the deep end; provided he’s afforded patience to develop, United do have a potential world-class player on their hands, but there are plenty of obstacles to overcome before Martial reaches those levels.