'Not a single' member of Man Utd's recruitment team had heard of current player when he first joined

A former senior member of Manchester United's recruitment team has lifted the lid on the record signing of Anthony Martial – and it makes for fascinating reading.

Back in September 2015, the highly-rated Frenchman became the most expensive teenager in Premier League history when he joined from Monaco for an initial fee of £36 million plus £21.6 million in potential bonus payments.

Louis van Gaal, who was in charge at the time, admitted the fee paid for the teenager forward was "ridiculous" and the purchase was made with the club's next manager in mind.

"United are routinely quoted £10 million more for a player but I have not bought Martial for me," Van Gaal said, just days after the deal was confirmed. "I have bought him for the next manager of Manchester United."

Martial has since registered 90 goals in 317 appearances in a red shirt but the 28-year-old will be allowed to leave Old Trafford in 2024, according to a recent report from The Athletic.

Martial's time at United has become a hot topic of debate in recent weeks. He has scored two goals in 19 games this season, with only seven of those appearances coming as starts.

And with his future at Old Trafford in doubt, a report from Mail Sport has provided fans with an insight into his much-talked-about arrival in 2015.

A former senior member of the United recruitment team is quoted as saying: "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 £50 million or something and not a single one of us in the department had ever heard of him."

Martial was described as a 'vanity' signing by the report, who also name Bastian Schweinsteiger and Colombian forward Radamel Falcao in that same category.

Image credit: Getty

Angel Di Maria, another controversial buy, was later described by United scouts as "not brave enough" but was still signed from Real Madrid for a reported £60 million.

Senior United sources would call it a "mistake" to give Van Gaal power and control in the transfer market.

Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Louis Van Gaal, Anthony Martial

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_