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My family’s more nervous than me about United: Martial

PARIS — The family of Manchester United’s latest signing, Anthony Martial, were more nervous than he was about him becoming the world’s most expensive teenager by moving from AS Monaco.

Anthony Martial, the world’s most expensive teenager. Photo: Getty Images

Anthony Martial, the world’s most expensive teenager. Photo: Getty Images

PARIS — The family of Manchester United’s latest signing, Anthony Martial, were more nervous than he was about him becoming the world’s most expensive teenager by moving from AS Monaco.

The fee for the 19-year-old, dubbed the new Thierry Henry despite barely 50 first-team games for the Ligue 1 side, was put at £36 million (S$78 million) by British media and as high as €80 million (S$127 million) by French media.

However, the forward told a news conference at France’s training camp in Clairefontaine on Wednesday that he was not concerned about the cost of the transfer.

“My family were definitely a bit nervous because of my high price, but I’m going to stay focused on my work,” he said. “I’m not sure I’m worth €80 million. I left for the football side. It’s quite crazy for a player of my age, but that’s how the market works. This sum has been negotiated between the two clubs.”

Martial does not believe his price tag will be a problem as he learns to adapt to the English Premier League.

“I don’t see myself as being under any pressure. Since I was young, people have told me I have the right characteristics to play in England,” he added.

Martial said United manager Louis van Gaal had asked him his best position and been told it was in the centre. “But he told me I can play in a number of positions,” added the French Under-21 international. “It’s the coach who decides.”

Nor did Martial appear overawed by the prospect of featuring alongside players such as England captain Wayne Rooney.

“It’s normal Wayne Rooney doesn’t know me,” he said. “Next to him, I’ll improve my game a lot.”

Martial, who scored nine goals in 35 league matches last season, has been called up by Euro 2016 hosts France for friendlies against Portugal in Lisbon on Friday and Serbia in Bordeaux on Monday.

The teenager’s record-breaking move to Manchester United will also transform the finances of a tiny sixth-tier club in the Paris suburbs.

It will be a game changer for Martial’s first club, CO Les Ulis — based in a southwestern Paris suburb about 20km from the French capital — where he learnt his skills from 2001 to 2009.

The amateur club is also famous for having nurtured the likes of former Arsenal star Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra, who played for United.

Under FIFA rules, clubs that help to develop youngsters who are later transferred are entitled to compensation for all the training and education provided over the years. The so-called “solidarity mechanism” works between the seasons of the player’s 12th and 23rd birthdays.

Martial left Les Ulis when he was 14 to join Lyon’s renowned training academy, meaning that the club will receive three years of development fees — representing 0.75 per cent of his transfer to United — worth an estimated £270,000.

“It will cover up to four or five years of our budget,” said coach Mamadou Niakate. “We are always struggling to make ends meet. This money will help us secure existing jobs and renew our equipment.”

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