Manchester United have completed the signing of Monaco attacker Anthony Martial for a fee reportedly in the region of £36 million ($55.2 million at current exchange rate), plus incentives that could see the fee rise to £50 million. The 19-year-old only extended his contract with the Ligue 1 club through to 2019 earlier this summer, though the Reds' big bid has proven sufficient to pry him from the principality.
Manchester United sign Anthony Martial from Monaco
United have reportedly spent £36 million on the French teenager.
Martial’s arrival certainly represents a bigger risk than United were expected to take in their late summer business, with Ed Woodward and Louis van Gaal having opted (or perhaps been forced) into signing youth over experience at a high cost. Still, they clearly feel that the young Frenchman could be the answer to the attacking woes that have seen them score only three goals in their first four Premier League games, and they could well be right.
The teenager is a pretty versatile forward, and could be deployed either out on the flank or through the middle. He adds a blistering pace that has been sadly lacking with the inclusion of Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney in United's lineup, and he's more than capable of offering the penetrating runs that the Reds have been missing for a couple of seasons. It's an unexpected and expensive -- but undoubtedly exciting -- capture for United.
