As a football fan, who doesn’t dare themselves to dream every once in a while?
That’s exactly what our Manchester United fans in the Football Transfer Tavern are doing right now after not only seeing their beloved Red Devils inflict another defeat on arch-rivals Liverpool but also because they saw new £36 million signing Anthony Martial start to his United career in the best way possible with a fine debut goal.
In what turned out to be a fairytale start for the young Frenchman, call them stupid but some of our resident Red Devils supporters by the bar this evening are questioning whether they have a future Ballon d’Or winner on their books.
We’ve all read the comparisons to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and at this stage, albeit incredibly early to cast judgement on what he’ll achieve at Old Trafford, why shouldn’t United fans be daring to dream that Martial could be the next ingenious signing after the days of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Every time a transfer is made – and one as large as £36 million – football fans always secretly question whether the player could become a club legend during his stay and with the likes of Alexis Sanchez making an incredible impact in his first season and seemingly on his way to stardom with Arsenal, why can’t Martial do the same?
That’s why today we’re humouring our Manchester United punters while listening to the five reasons they’ve come up with how Anthony Martial can win the Ballon d’Or in his time with the Red Devils.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 reasons why Manchester United’s Anthony Martial will win the Ballon d’Or.
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Because he can be deployed in several attacking positions
In true Thierry Henry fashion, Anthony Martial scored a fine first ever goal for United on his debut courtesy of cutting in from the left flank before coolly slotting beyond Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet at the weekend.
Receiving the number 9 shirt of course and signed as someone who could lead United’s frontline with a lack of out-and-out options on the market this summer, we’ve already seen Martial deployed as a left winger by Monaco last season.
Playing in the role to accomodate Dimitar Berbatov up top as Monaco achieved a shock victory at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in the Champions League last term, it’ll be Louis van Gaal’s job to accommodate Martial where he is most effective.
Given he can play either up top or on the flanks in the so-called glory positions on the field, he’ll be able to score goals while also creating assists with the Frenchman boasting pace to burn.
And lets be honest, since the Ballon d’Or was formalised in 2010, not forgetting it’s previous form that ran from 1956, it’s usually been attacking players who have received the top personal prize in football.
Because he has time on his side at 19-years-old
Despite having just transferred to United for a fee that is rather more applicable to a 25-year-old in the peak of their career, we can’t forget that Anthony Martial is still just 19-years-old.
With all things going well of course, Martial will be intent on staying around at Old Trafford for some time and with Louis van Gaal having claimed that he’s been signed for United’s next manager, he’ll still benefit from the stewardship of the Dutchman who lets face it, has managed some of the world’s top talents in his career.
Bypassing the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or will of course be pretty much impossible in the next few seasons but with the pair eventually waning in their powers – if they ever do – a next generation of stars such as Martial are emerging and with United set to receive his best years, why can’t he be a future Ballon d’Or winner of tomorrow?
Because his pace will always excite while frightening defenders
We saw in his brief cameo appearance against Liverpool at the weekend just how fast Martial can be with the ball at his feet.
With the great entertainers of yesteryear such as Thierry Henry boasting such explosive characteristics, you can’t help but gravitate towards footballers who are able to twin this power with consistency, control and accuracy.
Only time will tell whether Martial can fulfil his obvious potential but given his rapid playing style, this will naturally excite the Old Trafford faithful and onlookers from afar, not to mention frightening defenders who will be backtracking to try and deal with the Frenchman.
If he can continue to get United fans out of their seats with his direct playing style, while also scoring or assisting on a regular basis, he’ll naturally be talked about as one of the most exciting players in the Premier League.
Because he is now known the world over
Have you ever thought of the Ballon d’Or like this?
While we all know that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best footballers in the world, who’s to say there isn’t an absolutely lethal Brazilian forward tearing up the Ukrainian second division with 60 plus goals over in Eastern Europe?
What we mean by this is that while everybody knew Anthony Martial played for Monaco before joining Manchester United, by joining one of the world’s biggest clubs and brands in the Red Devils, he is now known the world over for this fact alone.
Thus, with his every touch under intense speculation, scrutiny and of course praise, anything effective that Martial does will be celebrated tenfold compared to previously during his time spent in Ligue 1.
If he can have an accelerated impact at Old Trafford, the Sky Sports generation will start talking about him even more and who knows, perhaps he can scoop the Ballon d’Or within the next 10 years.
Because Manchester United have produced a winner before
While both Lionel Messi amd Cristiano Ronaldo have of course dominated the modern format of the Ballon d’Or since it was conceived in 2010, we can’t forget that in it’s previous guise, Manchester United produced a winner in Ronaldo himself back in 2008.
Punters are of course claiming that this feat was achieved under the stewardship of the great Sir Alex Ferguson but who knows, Anthony Martial burst onto the scene at tea-time on Saturday evening with the same flair and vigour as a young dodgy-haired Ronaldo once achieved in England.
With United fans daring to dream being the theme of the day, we’ll leave them to enjoy their current feelings of jubilation!
