Speaking ahead of the Liverpool FC game, Louis van Gaal urged the supporters to be patient with Martial, citing examples of even more experienced players like Falcao and Angel Di Maria struggling to adapt.
Manchester United bought Anthony Martial on the final day of the transfer window in a A?36m deal. With Wayne Rooney unlikely to feature against Liverpool FC following a hamstring injury, Martial could be playing from the start.
Van Gaal calls for patience with Martial ahead of Liverpool tie
With the pressure of the price-tag and the expectations from fans, many players have crumbled. No wonder Louis van Gaal has come out ahead of the crunch north-west derby to urge the fans to be patient with the French forward, citing the examples of how much more experienced players like di Maria and Falcao struggled.
“I can imagine the fans shall think [that for] A?50 million he has to score,” Van Gaal was quoted saying by ESPN FC. “No, no. He is 19 years old so he has to adapt. It is very difficult to adapt. You have seen how [Angel] Di Maria has struggled and he was 27. And [Radamel] Falcao, he was 29. So it is not so easy, especially at Manchester United. The pressure is much higher than at another club.
“So I don’t think we have to give him too much pressure, but of course he has to adapt to our culture and our philosophy and that is difficult enough and maybe he can show signals of his quality in this season.”
. Martial best of his age: Van Gaal
Earlier in the week, van Gaal himself had described the fee for Martial as “ridiculous”, but claimed that Martial could have been worth A?10million more expensive if the English giants would have waited for another year.
“I have said to Ed [Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman], he is the best of his age and we need a striker in the future so we can wait a year and he is A?10million more expensive or now we can build him up,” Van Gaal said in a news conference.