New Manchester United signing Anthony Martial says he is not feeling the pressure of the large transfer fee paid for him and is looking forward to playing with Wayne Rooney.
The 19-year-old signed for Man United on transfer deadline day for £36million, the most paid for a teenager in football history and the second highest fee ever paid for a Frenchman.
Martial says he's not feeling under pressure
However, Martial says "I don't know how much I'm worth" and "I don't feel I'm under pressure." The youngster was speaking at a press conference at the France squad's training camp in Clairefontaine. He received his first call up to the senior side from Didier Deschamps after a great 2014/15 in which he scored nine Ligue 1 goals, the most by any player under the age of twenty in Europe.
He says that although he had a great season, "I don't know if I'm worth €80m" but that has nothing to do with him it is only "between the two clubs", Manchester United and AS Monaco, where he spent two years, having moved from Olympique Lyonnais in 2013.
Even if the fee has nothing to do with him and he says he isn't feeling the pressure, he says "it's up to me to prove my worth" to the English fans who most have never seen Martial play before.
Martial looking forward to learning from Rooney
After Martial signed for United, quotes came out from United captain Wayne Rooney that indicated he had no idea who Martial was. Yet the 19-year-old has no issues with this because "it's normal that Rooney doesn't know me" as it is Martial's "first time with France" and he has not played "much in Ligue 1". Rooney will have to get to know him after the international break when he'll meet him for the first time and Martial is looking forward to it because he "will learn a lot from him [Rooney]."
Martial prefers central role
Since Martial's move to United, much has been said of United boss Louis van Gaal calling him a 'multi-functional forward' with some suggesting it may mean Martial plays on the right and not in the centre. Martial himself says that he "prefer[s] to play in the centre" but he "can play in a number of positions" so will "do the best [he] can"