Martial has beaten price-tag pressure- Deschamps

France coach Didier Deschamps says the pressure of a big-money move has not hampered Anthony Martial’s development since signing for Manchester United.

The Frenchman has scored 12 goals in all competitions since completing the move from Monaco to Manchester in September and was named in Deschamps’ latest squad for matches against Netherlands and Russia.

And the France coach said Martial – who has six caps to his name already – possesses all the assets required to build on his impressive start to life in the Premier League.

“Anthony is young but he has confirmed his potential in Manchester despite the weight of the price of his transfer,” he said.

“He has progressed, he plays a lot. He is young and he is not tired.

“He is doing very interesting things with speed and impact. Usually he plays on the left but he can play as centre-forward too.

“It’s good, he continues to progress, he comes regularly for the French national team [but] he has a lot of room for improvement.”

Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante joins Deschamps’ squad for the first time as part of a 10-strong Premier League contingent, but the coach is reluctant to compare the breakthrough midfielder to former France star Claude Makelele.

“He may look like the players who played in that position,” Deschamps added. “[But] today, N’Golo does not quite play the same way as Claude Makelele did.

“[Makelele] was a player in front of the defence as seen today with Lassana Diarra and Yohan Cabaye.

“He is a player who can win the ball but also he has the capacity to go forward. This is a very flattering comparison for him.

“We often compare footballers with players of the past. I wish him the same career as Claude Makelele. He will certainly be very happy [if he can achieve that].”

Report by OmniSport