Anthony Martial has been confirmed as a Manchester United player, signing from Monaco for £36m to make him, at 19, British football’s most expensive teenager.
Reports in France have put his final price as high as £58.8m, which is just below the British record £59.7m paid by United for Ángel di María. The purchase of Martial by Louis van Gaal, the manager, is some surprise given the size of the fee and his relative inexperience.
United would have preferred to move for Martial next summer. However Van Gaal needed to strengthen his forward line and he was also conscious that Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid were all interested in the player. [...]
