New Manchester United player, Anthony Martial’s former youth coach, Mamadou Niakite has revealed that he can see similarities between the newly capped youngster and French legend Thierry Henry according to the Daily Mail.
The 19-year old former Monaco attacker joined Manchester United in a staggering £58 million deadline day move this summer. The deal making the youngster the world’s most expensive teenager. However, the huge sum used to price the player away from the French club has raised some eyebrows but Niakite who played with Thierry Henry as a child and coached Martial has a different opinion and feels he can speak with some authority having had first hand experience with both players. The coach has cited similarities between the pair and believes that United have a real gem of a player.
“Anthony arrived here at the age of six and we could see that he had already surpassed the other kids in terms of his technical skill and speed” , he said.
“He shared Thierry’s qualities. He was incredibly determined. As is the case with every great player, he had this real hate of losing, almost a fear. He was a leader on the pitch. Even at six years old, he couldn’t handle losing. It would eat him up, he would be angry and become isolated. Thierry was the same, he had that exact trait. It is the same behaviour, the same speed, the same quality and the same will to win. They would both be very demanding of themselves and their team mates both in training and games” .
Martial arrives Old Trafford as Monaco’s highest goal scorer in the leage last term with 9 goals.