Man Utd's transfer approach summed up by signing staff 'had never heard of'

16 December 2023 , 16:39

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Man Utd's transfer approach summed up by signing staff 'had never heard of'

Manchester United 's recruitment team “had never heard of” Anthony Martial before his big-money move to Old Trafford was confirmed.

The French forward completed a £44m move to Old Trafford from Monaco back in September 2015, although the Red Devils could end up paying up to £68m should a number of add-ons be met. He moved to Manchester as a teenager to great acclaim.

However, someone clearly forgot to let those working behind the scenes at Old Trafford know of his growing reputation upon his arrival. One staff member has even claimed then manager Louis van Gaal went against the club’s established transfer policy to secure Martial’s signature.

Speaking to Mail Online, an unnamed staff member revealed: “By the time Van Gaal was in place we had a system we thought was working. We had players on the database and every time a player was scouted or elevated through the tiers of the system it would automatically update.

“And then one day Anthony Martial turned up. He literally just turned up at Carrington. We had signed him for £50million or something and not a single one of us in the department had ever heard of him.”

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Despite those doubts after his arrival, Martial had a promising first season at Old Trafford. He netted 17 goals in all competitions throughout his debut campaign.

Anthony Martial has scored just one Premier League goal this season (Getty Images)

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However, his goalscoring has since slowed down. The striker’s record now sits at 90 goals in 317 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils - only 12 of those coming in the Premier League since the start of the 2020/21 season.

Former Man United star Gary Neville has been very critical of Martial and the Red Devils’ failure to move him on when they had the chance. He said: "When you hear the stats there and think he is a goalscorer that cost £50-60million and has scored 89 goals in nine years and we still can’t get him out of the club.

"I don’t think we are being hard enough. The failing of the football and recruitment department is absolutely incredible. The reality is there is no way he should be leading the line in any competition.”

Martial has endured another tricky campaign this term. He received criticism from fans following Man United’s 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth.

Boss Erik ten Hag has since jumped to his defence. The Dutchman said: "Two weeks ago against Everton he played a very good game so he has absolutely the competences & abilities to play, so I don’t think it is fair, after a performance like this, to go to one player. We as a group failed all together."

Martial’s current Man United contract expires at the end of the season but it has been claimed that the Red Devils could activate a club option to extend his stay by a further year.

Daniel Orme