'It's normal Wayne Rooney doesn't know who I am,' says Manchester United's Anthony Martial

FootballManchester UnitedTransfer NewsVaishali Bhardwaj

Anthony Martial understands why Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney didn't know who he was before the Red Devils paid Monaco £36million to sign him on transfer deadline day.

United confirmed the signing of the 19-year-old on a four-year contract on Tuesday afternoon in a deal that makes the France Under-21 international the second-most expensive teenager in world football.

Red Devils coach Louis van Gaal admitted he had been tracking Martial for some time, although not all of the club's players knew who he was after Morgan Schneiderlin revealed Rooney had asked him about the teenager when it became apparent United were keen on signing him.

But, after making 70 appearances for Monaco in his two years at the club - scoring 15 goals in the process - Martial insisted it was normal that Rooney wasn't aware of him.

"I don't know if I'm worth the fee," Martial said. 

"That's between the two clubs. It's up to me to prove my worth.

"It's normal that Rooney doesn't know who I am. This is my first time with France and I've played a little in Ligue 1."

Martial's expensive switch from France to England on deadline day, which Monaco described as "incredible", surprised the press in the player's homeland.

Leading sports newspaper L'Equipe ran the headline "More expensive than Zidane" on their Wednesday cover, which highlighted the fact that United had splashed out more money on the 19-year-old than Real Madrid did when they signed Frenchman Zinedine Zidane for £45million from Juventus in 2001.

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