By Spencer Morgan
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has admitted he was worried about the intensity of the Premier League ahead of his move to Old Trafford.
The Frenchman became one of the stories of last summer when he joined the Red Devils from Monaco in a deal that could end up costing United over £60m.
He has since eased concerns over the transfer fee, which even manager Louis van Gaal described as ‘ridiculous, contributing 12 goals and six assists in 38 appearances in his debut campaign.
Like many foreign imports, there were doubts over whether the 20-year-old would be able to cope with the rigours of English football.
And Martial has confirmed that while he had similar fears prior to his arrival, they did not last long.
‘At the start I was scared because I had heard a lot about the intensity of the English game,’ Martial told RTL.
He made his debut as a 65th-minute substitute in September, scoring a brilliant third in a 3-1 victory over rivals Liverpool and quickly realised he had what it takes.
‘But I realised during the matches that I was able to keep up, and I was really very happy about that because as a youngster I struggled to finish games, at the age of 17 they said I needed to work on my endurance,’ he added.
When asked if he was more afraid of the intensity of the tackles within English football, Martial replied: ‘No the intensity, the tackles you need to know how to avoid them and not injure yourself. But I love the English game, it was really everything I wanted.’
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