Aside from Saido Berahino’s keyboard warrior antics, the story that dominated deadline day was Manchester United’s incredibly excessive £36 million capture of 19-year-old striker Anthony Martial from Monaco.
Yet to be fully capped by the French national side to boot, the former Lyon youngster is now officially the most expensive teenage signing of all-time usurping Luke Shaw who also ended up deciding to further his development at Old Trafford.
While Martial could turn out to prove he is worth every penny given he’s been likened to Thierry Henry so far in his career, the ridiculous £36 million fee serves to suggest just how inflated prices for strikers have become of late with very few world class ones being available this summer.
With the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham failing to land striking reinforcements on deadline day, United did act, albeit for a price that has been mocked in several quarters.
The overriding feeling the neutrals get in the Football Transfer Tavern on deadline day is just why on earth do clubs end up leaving it so late to conclude business that should’ve been dealth with in the weeks proceeding the mad scramble – just ask David De Gea!
With a firm amount of pressure now set to be placed upon the teenage Martial’s shoulders following his asking price, we take a look at five alternative signings that could’ve provided Louis van Gaal more value for money this past summer transfer window.
[ffc-gallery]
Click on the image below to reveal the 5 strikers Manchester United should’ve signed instead of Anthony Martial this summer.
[/ffc-gallery]
Jackson Martinez
At the start of the summer – and turning out to be the case at the end of the window – the likes of truly world class forwards such as Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani and Robert Lewandowski were considered off limits handing a blow to the likes of United and Arsenal.
That said, there were quite a few category B-type forwards out there on the market such as Gonzalo Higuain and this guy Jackson Martinez who ended up replacing Mario Mandzukic as Atletico Madrid’s main man up top.
Having built a fearsome reputation for prolific goalscoring in Portugal during his time at Porto, Colombian international Martinez ended up pursuing that tried and tested career path of side stepping from Portugal to La Liga in Atleti where he’ll be likely to further impress.
They say Arsenal shied away from a deal for Martinez because he is quickly approaching his thirties and while you can indeed believe that Arsene Wenger would be so fussy, we can’t help think that the 35 million euros that Martinez eventually joined Atleti for would’ve suited Manchester United down to the ground in respect of the player being ready-made at his peak.
Pedro
In infamous Chelsea style, Jose Mourinho and the Blues seemed to hijack another deal this summer in the form of Pedro who despite being linked with Manchester United seemingly all summer, is now on the payroll at Stamford Bridge rather than Old Trafford.
In the end, United claimed they weren’t in for the player but we think they’ve made a boo boo with Chelsea having managed to land a truly world class player for just £19 million – rising to £21.4 million.
Not an out-and-out forward of course, the same can be said about Anthony Martial who was deployed towards the side of Dimitar Berbatov last season for Monaco and thus it makes it incredibly difficult for Manchester United fans to see why they weren’t hell bent on defeating Chelsea in the race for Pedro while having some money in the bank to save for a rainy day as well.
Romelu Lukaku
Now we know what you’re thinking; if Everton weren’t willing to sell John Stones for as much as £35 million this summer, what on earth would’ve they charged for Romelu Lukaku if the likes of United came calling?
By far and away the Toffees’ record signing of course, Lukaku has on the whole impressed during his time at Goodison Park and remarkably still 22-years-old despite his stature suggesting otherwise, he still has the peak years of his career ahead of him.
Fast, strong, good in the air and capable of running directly at defenders, Lukaku has a little bit of everything and given how well Arouna Kone has started the season for Roberto Martinez, we just can’t help but wonder what his asking price might’ve been if Louis van Gaal and Ed Woodward came calling.
To be fair, in truth Everton always drive a hard bargain and like Stones, Lukaku may well have even exceeded Martial’s £36 million asking price but we’ll never know.
All we’re saying is that they could’ve enquired!
Carlos Bacca
Another of those category B-type strikers to be snapped up before anybody else could get their hands on them early this summer was Sevilla hero Carlos Bacca who AC Milan managed to recruit for their ranks.
A prolific goalscorer for the Andalusian side that single-handedly won them a second successive Europa League triumph last term, Bacca’s exploits in La Liga would’ve stuck out even more had it not been for the superhuman efforts of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Given his successes in the Europa League, some have pigeon-holed him as only good enough for this level but we can’t help think that an elder ready-made striker such as Bacca may have been far more experienced to succeed in the Champions League for Manchester United on their return this season.
Joining the Rossoneri for 30 million euros, United would’ve again had money left in the bank in comparison to eventual signing Anthony Martial.
Christian Benteke
Yes, he’s only scored one Premier League goal so far in his fledgling career for United’s arch-rivals Liverpool but Christian Benteke looks so much more of a convincing forward for the Reds in comparison to the likes of Mario Balotelli and co.
Signing for the Reds for a fee that many also deemed to be inflated at £32.5 million, in comparison to Matial, Benteke has already been there and done it in the Premier League, scoring a hatful of goals while reassuring fans that he’d be far less of a gamble than a younger foreign import.
Different from the likes of Wayne Rooney to boot, Benteke would’ve offered Manchester United an alternative option up front in regards to the Belgian being a threat in the air as well as on the deck.
But as the story goes, United fans will now hate on the former Aston Villa man while praying that Martial comes up with the goods!
