It won’t be hard for Wayne Rooney to spot Anthony Martial at their first Manchester United training session together – he will be the lad with the £36m price-tag floating over his head.
Rooney was not the only footballer, or football fan, asking ‘Anthony who?’ when United were reported to be sealing a deal for the teenage striker.
The former Monaco frontman, who has only 52 games (29 starts) in top flight football, will cost United £36m (€49m) over four seasons and a further £22m (€30m) if he hits some heady targets in the future – top goalscorer, Ballon D’or, etc.
Morgan Schneiderlin revealed, on Tuesday, that Rooney had asked him what he new of their new teammate as he was nonplussed.
‘Wayne came to speak to me and asked me who Martial was,’ Schneiderlin commented, ‘because the English press had started to speak.’
Naturally enough, at Martial’s first press conference after signing up with United, he was asked about Rooney’s ignorance.
‘It’s normal that he [Rooney] does not know me,’ Martial replied.
‘I have not played in Ligue 1 a lot and this is the first time I’m in the France team. But I’m happy to go there.
‘Rooney is a great player and I will progress a lot with him.’
With the add-ons an open secret at this stage, Martial was asked how it feels to (potentially) be an €80m player.
‘I don’t know if I’m worth €80 million,’ he admitted.
‘I do not think about the amounts. The amount is between the two clubs. I do not put myself under particular pressure.
‘Sure it’s crazy enough for a player of my age.
‘This is the football market and I can not help it, it’s between the two clubs. I try to ignore and concentrate only on the field.’
