Manchester United bound Anthony Martial was in Manchester City’s sights before he joined AS Monaco from Lyon in 2013.

The 19-year-old forward’s impending move to Old Trafford has been one of the shocking transfers of the summer because of the amount of money Manchester United are set to pay to secure his services.




Manchester United are claimed in France to be paying an initial fee of around €60m to Monaco for the transfer of the France Under-21 international, but the fee could rise to around €80m based on his performances at Old Trafford.

Once he completes the move to the Red Devils, Martial will become the most expensive teenager in the world but a few years earlier he could have ended up at Manchester City for a fraction of the money Manchester United are spending.
 


According to L’Equipe, three years ago, the then Lyon youngster visited the facilities at Manchester City and the Citizens were hoping to lure the highly-rated French talent away from the Stade Gerland.

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However, a deal never materialised and Monaco secured the signature of Martial from Lyon in 2013 for €5m, a fee which also took most people by surprise in France as he had only made a handful of Ligue 1 appearances for Les Gones.

Martial secured the permission of the French Football Federation to travel to Manchester yesterday and has reportedly undergone a medical with the Red Devils in their training facilities at Carrington.

Manchester United are expected to make the deal official later today.