Man Utd set to sign £36m Martial from Monaco

Manchester United are set to complete the £36m signing of Monaco forward Anthony Martial.

The 19-year-old, who has been linked with Arsenal, was allowed to leave the France squad on Monday to travel for a medical with Louis van Gaal’s side.

Martial scored eight goals in 31 Ligue 1 appearances last season.

Should he sign, Martial will become Manchester United’s third most expensive signing, after £59.7m Angel Di Maria and £37.1m Juan Mata

Spain midfielder Mata joined from Premier League rivals Chelsea in January 2014, while Argentina winger Di Maria moved from La Liga giants Real Madrid for a British record fee in August last year.

After Manchester United lost 2-1 to Swansea on Sunday, Van Gaal said he would not panic buy before the transfer window closes tomorrow.

France Under-21 international Martial was called up to the senior national team for the first time on 28 August.

“Anthony Martial asked France coach Didier Deschamps for permission to travel to England to sign a contract with Manchester United,” a statement from the French Football Federation confirmed.

Martial started his career at Lyon, making his professional debut in December 2012, before joining Monaco in June 2013.

This summer he agreed a one-year extension to his previous deal, taking his contract up to 2019.

At the time, Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said Martial was “untransferable”, with Tottenham reported to have shown interest.

On calling up Martial to his France squad, Deschamps said: “He plays centrally, but often drifts into wide positions, more on the left than the right.

“He’s got a good combination of pace and power. He’s a young player obviously, but he’s got an interesting profile in an area where it’s not easy to find players with both strength and speed.

“He’s got good potential and I want to see how he does with the squad.”