Anthony Martial set to become most expensive teenager as Manchester United close-in on record deal

Anthony Martial can play as a winger or as a central striker, and has played at all youth levels for France. (Source: Reuters)

Manchester United was set to make French forward Anthony Martial the most expensive teenager in world football after a chaotic day of transfer dealings at Old Trafford that also saw Javier Hernandez and Adnan Januzaj offloaded.

The French Football Federation said Monday that Martial, the 19-year-old Monaco player who has been compared to France great Thierry Henry, was granted permission to leave France’s national squad to sign a contract at United.

Reports in the French and English media said Martial could cost United 36 million pounds ($55.5 million), a hefty fee for a player who has started only 29 games and was just called up by France for the first time ahead of upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Portugal. Martial, who signed a new contract at Monaco this summer until 2019, would surpass Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Moura as the costliest teenager in the history of the game.

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United’s overhaul under manager Louis van Gaal gathered pace with the sale of Mexico striker Javier Hernandez to Bayer Leverkusen on a three-year deal, while attacking midfielder Adnan Januzaj was sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund for the season and back-up goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard left for West Bromwich Albion.

United was also negotiating with Real Madrid for the sale of goalkeeper David de Gea, who is yet to play this season because he hasn’t been in the right frame of mind amid speculation about his future. However, by the time the transfer window closed in Spain, a deal had yet to be announced.

The 20-time English champions are taking a gamble on Martial after scoring just three goals in their opening four matches of the Premier League season, raising doubts about the strength of their attacking options. Wayne Rooney has been used by Van Gaal as a lone striker but hasn’t scored in the league since April 4. The only other striker in Van Gaal’s squad now is youngster James Wilson.

For the second straight year, United is turning to Monaco to solve its striker shortage in the final hours of Europe’s summer transfer window.

Twelve months ago, it was Radamel Falcao. This time, it’s Martial.

Martial can play as a winger or as a central striker, and has played at all youth levels for France. He scored nine goals in 35 league matches last season and is widely regarded as one of the brightest young players in French football alongside Lyon’s Nabil Fekir.

With his speed, technical skills and penchant for cutting in from the left, Martial has many of the same attributes as Henry – France’s record goalscorer and a Premier League great from his time at Arsenal.

Martial joined Monaco from Lyon in 2013 for 5 million euros and blossomed last season, relegating veteran Dimitar Berbatov to the bench toward the end of the campaign.

“He approached (France coach) Didier Deschamps for authorization to go to England to sign a contract with Manchester United there,” a FFR statement said about Martial. “In these exceptional circumstances, the coach accepted the request of the player.”

Martial is due to link up again with the France squad at its Clairfontaine base near Paris on Tuesday.

A loan move for Falcao didn’t turn out well for United, with the Colombia striker scoring four goals in 29 appearances. United rejected the opportunity to sign Falcao on a permanent basis and also sold Robin van Persie this offseason.

The transfer window closes in England on Tuesday.