I am sure many of you will agree with me that very few youngsters from foreign land have set the Premier League alight from the onset than Manchester United’s Anthony Martial.
The £36m signing has got off to a flying start at his new club, where he found the net on four occasions.
But it is more than just goals, his overall presence, giving the feel of creating something out of nothing every time, has injected a renewed belief around the team.
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Many thought (including me, no shame in denying that) United have made a huge gamble by paying such a big transfer fee for a 19-year-old kid who was hitherto unknown in world football.
However, he has quickly silenced his doubters to his price-tag with one-after-another stellar performances, and is slowly becoming a hero at Old Trafford.
France head coach Didier Deschamps is full of praise for the young lad, and he is delighted with Martial’s meteoric rise.
He told reporters as quoted by The Mirror:
“He has the potential. Everybody is surprised by what he is doing at United but that’s good for him and good for us. He deserves to be here.
“It was anything but easy after everything that has been written and said about him.
“It has silenced a few people. He’s young, he may have more complicated times. He’s able to make great things happen. He did in Monaco.
“He’s doing it now in a club at another level so it is easier to pay attention to his performances. He’s always been talented though.”
Martial made an instant impact after scoring on his debut against Liverpool. He came on as a sub, and scored a superb goal after bamboozling Liverpool defenders with ease.
In his second league appearance against Southampton, Martial produced a virtuoso performance, bagging two goals to his name.
He continued his good form by scoring in the league cup against Ipswich, while he claimed an assist for Wayne Rooney’s goal against Sunderland.
Martial likes to dribble (2.3) and he is always looking for making the key passes (0.7), however, he needs to improve on his passing (66.7%).
Anthony Martial: Premier League 2015/16 – Minutes played 75, Shots 4, Shots on target 3, Goals 3 #MUFC
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 20, 2015
Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has also been included in the French squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers.
Surprisingly, Hatem Ben Arfa hasn’t been selected, despite making a good start for Nice.
Lassana Diara is also back in the fold, being selected after five years since his last cap.
Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma also makes the 23-man squad.
Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane get call up, but Arsenal right back Mathieu Debuchy has been left out.
Here’s the France squad in full:
Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Patrice Evra, Christophe Jallet, Eliaquim Mangala, Bacary Sagna, Mamadou Sakho, Benoit Tremoulinas, Raphael Varane, Kurt Zouma, Yohan Cabaye, Lassana Diarra, Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, Morgan Schneiderlin, Moussa Sissoko, Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Anthony Martial, Paul-Georges Ntep, Mathieu Valbuena.
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