Manchester United Transfer News: Anthony Martial 'Wanted' by City, Chelsea, PSG

Plenty of questions have been asked about Manchester United’s stunning swoop for Anthony Martial, but it seems as though the deal could be a major coup for the Red Devils, after claims there were a plethora of illustrious teams that have long been interested in the teenager.

That’s according to CO Les Ulis’s Aziz Benaaddane, the striker’s former youth team coach, who claimed some big names have been keeping tabs on Martial for a while, per Justin Allen of the Sun (h/t Jamie Anderson of the Daily Star):

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The big clubs have been keeping an eye on Anthony for years. When he was 11 he went to City for a visit. They took him on a stadium tour.

Big clubs like Chelsea, PSG, City, Valencia all wanted to sign him. But it was decided when he was 14 that Lyon was the best club because of their academy. Despite being 19 he has a mental age of 30.

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Martial left Lyon for Monaco in June 2013, and with the principality club, he served up glimpses of potential. The youngster is dynamic, technically proficient and has already showcased the kind of goalscoring instincts that suggest he’s ready to go all the way to the top.

As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, the former Monaco man is a young player who loves to commit opposition defenders too:

Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe took a look at how he thinks Martial is likely to fare in his maiden campaign at Old Trafford:

The Red Devils clearly see something very bright in the France international. As noted by BBC Sport, the deal for the forward could total £58 million with add-ons, but even the £36 million initially shelled out by United makes Martial the most expensive teenager in the game’s history. Living up to the subsequent expectations will be a big challenge for the youngster.

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However, according to Duncan Castles of the Sunday Times, the Red Devils weren’t the only club willing to part with so much for Martial, as Chelsea made a last-minute offer for the player in which all of United’s payments would have been matched. The piece claimed the bid came a little too late.

As noted by OptaJoe, the potential is definitely there for Martial to go on and become one of the very best forwards around:

It’s probably why United, in addition to being desperate for attacking reinforcements, paid a premium to get him ahead of the aforementioned sides. Martial is a player who seemed to be in demand, and while he may not be ready to play a starring role for the Red Devils quite yet, further down the line the Frenchman could be a force of nature up front.

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The challenge facing United now is how to best utilise Martial’s marvellous potential. There will be plenty expecting big things from the 19-year-old from the off given the money paid, but manager Louis van Gaal needs to use him smartly and continue the process of moulding what is an exciting yet malleable set of talents.