Anthony Martial is in the best spell of his Manchester United career right now and Sergio Romero knew just how good the Frenchman could be after seeing him at AS Monaco, when he was just 17 years old.
Martial was injured between August 24th and October 20th and since his return, as a substitute against Liverpool, the 23-year-old has contributed three goals and two assists, and Marcus Rashford's form has got better with the return of his attacking partner too.
All of that will come as no surprise to United's back-up keeper Romero. The Argentina 'keeper' explained to UTD Unscripted how he'd told teammates about Martial after seeing him for Monaco aged 17, saying, "Back in 2015, not long after I joined United, I was chatting with Ander Herrera, David De Gea and Juan Mata. I let them in on a secret.
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"'There's a kid at Monaco. Anthony Martial. For sure, in a short while, you'll all be talking about him.'
"I'd known about Anthony for two years. In the 2013/14 season, I went to AS Monaco on loan for a year from Sampdoria in Italy. Anthony was still very young, just a kid - I think he was 17 years old at that time - but you could already see that he was that he was a special player with lots of class and lots of talent. The kid was a natural.
"You'd just be amazed at the things he would do in the training sessions."
The French forward would move to Old Trafford about a month later, much to the surprise of many at the time, and he had an instant impact.
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On debut Martial came on as a substitute in the game against Liverpool at Old Trafford. He made an instant impact, slaloming through the Reds' defence before scoring to make it 3-1.
Romero even compared his teammate to the world's best, adding, "On the pitch, he really is one of the best I've seen. I think that the only player in the world or who I've seen, running with the ball as if it's stuck to his foot, is Leo Messi.
"...the thing that Anthony has which is quite similar is when he is running at top speed, he can stop the ball absolutely dead, in a split-second. That is the same as what Messi does. Leo will be running with the ball, on a mazy dribble, and then all of a sudden he'll stop suddenly and change pace or change speed, or go the other side.
"Anthony can do that with ease and in fact he has done it many times. He dribbles the ball one way, stops suddenly and then goes the other.
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"...He can go wherever he wants. If he really wants to say to himself: 'I want to be the best in the world,' then he can be the best in the world. He has to work, he needs to demonstrate to himself, and convince himself, that he can be the best in the world."
Romero caught the talent that Martial has early, the goalkeeper clearly has a pretty good eye for these things, so maybe he really can become one of the best in the world.
Just how good can Martial be?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Anthony Martial, Manchester United, Ligue 1, Sergio Romero, Premier League, AS Monaco, France
