Goalkeeper Sergio Romero shared a secret with some of his Manchester United team-mates, by telling them just what a secret weapon Anthony Martial would be.
Martial has impressed players and fans alike this season but long before he even set foot at Old Trafford, rumours of his talent were spread amongst the ranks. Romero, 31, went on loan to AS Monaco for a year, from Sampdoria and that is where the goalkeeper first laid eyes on Martial, quickly realising that the 22-year-old Frenchman had real talent. Speaking on the Manchester United website, the Argie said: “The kid was a natural. You’d just be amazed at the things he would do in the training sessions. You could see he was a young boy with a huge amount of ability and great strength. He had great quality with his feet and great skill. At the same time he was very explosive too, when he got hold of the ball. At that time in Monaco, he was just waiting to explode.”
Romero had known about Martial for two years and although the pair both arrived at Old Trafford in the same year, the keeper made the move first and let his team-mates in on the secret about the Frenchman’s talents. The Argentinian said: “Back in 2015, not long after I joined United, I was chatting with Ander Herrera, David De Gea and Juan Mata. I let them in on a secret. There’s a kid at Monaco. Anthony Martial. For sure, in a short while, you’ll all be talking about him. About a month after I had told Ander, Juan and David about him, Anthony joined us at United. I think he made an impression that first day when he made his debut against Liverpool.” On his debut, Martial got hold of the ball and went out wide before bursting through Liverpool’s defence. He slotted the ball in the bottom corner and ever since chants of ‘Tony Martial scores again’ have rung around Old Trafford. Romero added: “Right after the game, Ander and Juan told me: ‘You were right!’ I said to them that I don’t feel the need to be proved right. When a young player is good, he’s good, end of. That’s a reality of life. And this lad is very good.”
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