Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has insisted that new man Anthony Martial can live up to his reputation as the next Thierry Henry.

The 19-year-old, who only won his first cap for France on Friday night, joined Manchester United for £36m from Monaco on deadline day.

Saha, who spent four years at United between 2004 and 2008 and made over 20 caps for France, believes that Martial will emulate Henry, becoming a France and Premier League legend.

“He’s got that speed, that power, he’s got that youth in him so he’ll surprise a lot of defenders because they don’t know him,” said Saha.

“It’s a great asset for Manchester United and that’s what they needed because up front they lack speed sometimes.”

“In France we call him the next Thierry Henry because he can play left or right, he’s got a great ability with the ball, he can take on three, four players with ease, there is no problem. At the same time, the new generation have no fear.”

“He’s got such an ability that he can win trophies for Manchester United I believe that, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on him.”

[Quotes via the Independent]

Martial has huge expectations on his shoulders from both United fans and indeed the French in general. We hope the 19-year-old will shine, but the £36m price-tag, that could potentially rise to £58m, may become a burden to the striker and cost him dearly. The likes of Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll have both seen their astronomical price-tags get in the way of their football – so let’s hope Anthony doesn’t suffer the same.