The many Manchester United fans who believe that the club’s £36 million transfer bid for the 19-year-old Anthony Martial is a ridiculous move now have some more fuel to add to their fire, with stats revealing that the youngster has played only 8 full 90-minute matches in his career.
The 8 full matches he has played have all been with former club Monaco, with the most he managed to muster for the team being 1 goal and 1 assist against Stade Malherbe Caen. While it is being widely reported that he has scored 11 goals in 49 appearances, only 8 of those appearances saw him play the 90 minutes, with his last full match being on August 30th in a 3-0 loss to PSG.
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has confirmed that the deal could lead to United handing out even more money in the future, with Martial’s contract add-ons potentially totaling £58 million if he reaches his targets which, according to Vasilyev, are all very achievable.
“It’s true that the price for Martial is £57.6m but take into account this sum includes bonuses which are very realistic,” Yasilyev told The Sun. “Initially Martial was not for sale, it was absolutely not planned. Since last week United started to make offers which we declined several times – £21.6m, £28.8m, £36m, even £50.4m with bonuses.
“On Sunday the player got such an offer that he couldn’t have declined. He asked us to find a solution and on Monday morning Manchester United made an offer to Monaco which the club couldn’t refuse. It’s absolutely unique. It’s the price of Luis Suarez or Neymar – the best players in the world.
“Right now English football is on a different financial level and if Manchester United decides to buy somebody, it’s very hard to stop them.”
We’re sure many Man U supporters would be keen to suggest that the deal has not been made due to the club being on a “different financial level,” but rather because they are being run by a directionless management that, upon seeing what fate could be in store for them this season due to their lackadaisical performances, felt forced into taking big risks as the transfer window closed.
