Manchester United complete Anthony Martial's signing from Monaco

Martial has scored the most goals for any U-20 player in Europe’s top 5 leagues since last season

Manchester United have officially completed the signing of Anthony Martial from Monaco for a fee of £36 million, as per ESPN. The French forward will join Louis van Gaal’s side on a five-year contract, despite signing an extension to his deal with his former club in June.

Martial had been courted by Tottenham and Chelsea during the summer, but the interest from both clubs was reportedly snubbed by Monaco at the time. According to the Express, the Ligue 1 club rejected a £20 million bid from the Spurs and convinced Chelsea that the player would not be sold until the next summer.

The French youngster was called up to the senior national squad during the international break and was given given permission by the FFF to leave their training camp and go to Old Trafford to complete the deal, which clearly irked the two London clubs.

The 19-year-old played his youth football with Olympique Lyon and broke into the first team in the 2012-13 season after scoring 32 goals in just 21 games. He made only three appearances for them before moving to Monaco in the summer of 2013 for a reported fee of £3.5 million.

His first season at the Principality club yielded just 15 appearances and 2 goals for the youngster, although he did eventually become a vital part of the starting XI with some impressive performances.

The deadline-day signing scored 11 goals in 42 appearances last season as he helped his side finish third in the league and has been compared to Thierry Henry by many due to his speed and strength. His ability to play in all forward positions makes him a versatile signing for Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, who wants his side to score more goals after struggling with their attacking play so far this season.

The striker’s arrival to the club shouldn’t come as a surprise despite Louis van Gaal recently insisting that he will not panic buy after his side’s loss to Swansea City. With Wayne Rooney firing blanks in the Premier league so far, the Reds upped their interest in the player following Monaco’s loss to Valencia in the Champions League play-offs.

He is expected to provide a significant boost to the squad following many departures, which include the sale of Robin van Persie to Fenerbahce and the recent moves of Adnan Januzaj to Borussia Dortmund and Chicharito to Bayer Leverkusen.