Manchester United have enjoyed a resurgence in form of late, going unbeaten throughout 2024 while winning four of their previous five matches in all competitions.
It hasn’t been an easy ride, but wins are all that matter at this current moment in time, as Erik ten Hag aims to secure a Champions League slot for next season.
What has let the Dutchman down, especially this season, was his relatively poor transfer business conducted during the summer.
Only Rasmus Hojlund has shown any real potential of being a long-term star for the Red Devils and this is something which needs to change ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The problem does not lie with Ten Hag, however, as a succession of post-Ferguson United managers have all had the same problem. Some more so than others.
Louis Van Gaal was perhaps the worst when it came to spending lavish amounts of money on players who either did not improve his squad, or were only at Old Trafford for the inflated wages.
Only one of the Dutchman’s 13 signings for United is still at the club, but it is clear he has failed to live up to the vast potential he displayed when arriving nine years ago.
How much Anthony Martial was worth at AS Monaco
In 2015, Anthony Martial was among one of the most highly rated teenagers on the continent and, according to Football Transfers, his market value was €42.4m (£36m).
He had enjoyed a solid breakthrough campaign with the French side, scoring nine goals and grabbing four assists in Ligue 1, and this sort of form clearly attracted plenty of attention from elsewhere.
With Van Gaal enduring a rather lacklustre debut season at Old Trafford, he needed someone to reinvigorate his attack and Martial was looked upon as not only a wonderful talent, but as a player who could star for the club over the coming years.
Just before the transfer deadline, the 19-year-old cost United an initial fee of £36m, potentially rising to £58m and this made him the most expensive teenager in the world.
Judging by his valuation, the Red Devils secured the services of a centre-forward who had the potential to take the Premier League by storm during the 2015/16 campaign.
Fast-forward nine years, however, and Martial has certainly failed to live up to the initial hype generated by his arrival in England.
Anthony Martial’s market value now
The 19-year-old had the world at his feet, and it looked as though he had settled in just fine when he scored against Liverpool during his debut for the club to secure a 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
His goal was reminiscent of a prime Thierry Henry, starting off on the left wing before using his pace to cut inside and slot a low shot into the back of the net.
Indeed, journalist Philippe Auclair certainly saw the comparisons between the two French players, saying prior to Martial's move to United:
"The one comparison made by everybody in France – and will probably be made by everybody in England over the next few days – is he reminds people of Henry.
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36
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48
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"He's not as tall – he's about two inches shorter – but he is lightning quick. He's got good technique, good skills, he's a good finisher, but he is still a raw product. We don't know how far he can go."
Unfortunately, he didn’t go as far as many anticipated, and it still resembles a real shame that he couldn’t kick on from that debut goal and become a sensation for the club.
Indeed, at the time of writing, the 28-year-old is worth just €12.1m (£10m) according to Football Transfers and this represents a decline of £48m from the transfer fee that was paid to sign him in 2015.
Perhaps the pressure to succeed at United was too great, that and a succession of injuries did not help his cause, but why is the player only worth £10m?
Anthony Martial’s value has declined rapidly
The £250k-per-week forward scored a respectable tally of 17 goals during his maiden season in Manchester, yet he struggled to replicate these numbers under José Mourinho.
He only scored eight and 11 times in the following two seasons and while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looked to have revitalised the player – scoring 23 times in all competitions during 2019/20 – injury problems soon began to take their toll.
From the start of the 2020/21 season, Martial has missed a grand total of 62 matches for the Old Trafford side, while scoring just 19 goals during the same period of time.
The striker was even described as a “humongous waste of talent” by former Scottish professional player Craig Burley and there is simply no denying this statement, especially with his statistics from the current season.
Among his teammates, Martial currently ranks in a lowly 13th spot for goals and assists in the top flight (one), while ranking 14th for shots per game (0.5), 19th for successful dribbles per game (0.2) and 15th for key passes per game (0.5), showing his complete lack of influence when he does make an appearance.
The striker is draining Ten Hag’s wage budget every week, and he will surely be allowed to depart United at the end of the season, especially with his contract set to expire.
Allowing a player to depart for nothing having spent nearly £60m on him in transfer fees and likely the same amount on wages – for a paltry return of just 90 goals in 317 matches for the club – is grim business indeed.
Although the move looked interesting back in 2015, it has since turned out to be a huge drain on the club’s finances and Martial has arguably declined as a footballer, rather than continue to get better.
Aged 28, he should be entering into his peak years, but the Frenchman appears perfectly happy to collect his inflated £250k-per-week wage slip and count the money rather than make a contribution on the field.
Ten Hag will be hoping that his summer transfer business can indeed benefit the squad ahead of future seasons and getting rid of Martial could be an ideal way to begin.
