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Anthony Martial deal puts Di Maria sale into question

By on September 1, 2015

Manchester United went into the summer with four strikers in their squad. Almost immediately, Robin Van Persie was sold to Fenerbahce but Louis Van Gaal kept fans hopeful with promises of a “surprise striker” on his way to Old Trafford and hints that Wayne Rooney will also be moved further forward.

Yet come the beginning of the Premier League season, Rooney, James Wilson and Javier Hernandez were still United’s only recognized forwards. Four games and just three goals (including one Tottenham Hotspur own-goal) into the season, and Van Gaal offloaded Wilson and Hernandez on loan moves.

As such, news that Anthony Martial had signed for €50 million from Monaco on deadline day took the look of a panic buy. Indeed, if Martial is the “surprise” signing that Van Gaal talked of, it’s only because he is seemingly putting so much trust in a player that many people outside of the world of French football hadn’t heard of until yesterday.

Martial becomes United’s third most expensive signing ever, only behind Di Maria and Juan Mata and Monaco had only purchased the teenager from Lyon for £4.4 million two years ago. If he didn’t have enough pressure already, Van Gaal gave Martial the historic No9 jersey.

And while Martial has had a scintillating record in Ligue 1, sprinkled with Champions League experience, he’s only ever made fifty-two professional appearances. Although he’s been compared to France legend Thierry Henry, Henry himself has his doubts.

Henry poses multiple points. First of all, it’s clear that United are paying for potential to fulfill a job in which experience is crucial. In 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson found himself in an almost identical boat and turned to Arsenal star Van Persie, who was already at the peak of his career.

Martial’s signing makes the sale of Angel Di Maria, a very similar player with years of experience at the highest level of world football, seem hasty to say the least. Whatever Di Maria’s personal situation may have been — Van Gaal had benched the Argentina international for the final part of the 2014/2015 campaign — the former Real Madrid star had the ability to provide creativity in the midfield and runs in behind the defensive that United currently lack.

Moreover, it’s not clear that Martial is an out and out goalscorer. Last season he bagged just nine goals from thirty-five league appearances and still has the lanky build fit of a winger. In a fast-paced, physical Premier League, that’s among the first aspects of his game Martial will need to improve.

“He plays centrally, but often drifts into wide positions, more on the left than the right,” said France manager Didier Deschamps.

Martial very well may develop into a goal-scoring winger to complement Memphis Depay, but that further calls into question Di Maria’s sale. More likely, Martial will aspire to building bulk to grow into the No.9 shirt, with Van Gaal even admitting this will take time and that’s he’s not a finished product. “I am delighted [Martial] has joined Manchester United as I believe this is the right club for him to continue his development as a young player,” said Van Gaal, per United’s official website. “He has all the attributes to become a top football player; however we need to give him time to adjust to his new environment and the rhythm of the Premier League.”

Martial was among the Monaco squad that impressed in a 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Champions League Round of Sixteen last season, granted against a depleted Arsenal team. Week in and week out, Martial will have much less space down the wings to work with in the Premier League.

Di Maria might have struggled in his first season in the Premier League due to this very reason, yet clearly had the expertise to solve many, if not all of Van Gaal’s immediate needs, which are clearly abundant in number.

Photo credit: Fuguito, via Wikipedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.