Manchester United’s Anthony Martial was close to Everton

Speaking to TalkSport, Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that new Manchester United star Anthony Martial could have signed for Everton.

The young Frenchman joined United from Monaco this summer for £58m, becoming the world's most expensive teenager in the process.

He has made an impressive start to his Old Trafford career as well; scoring three goals in his first four Premier League games, the first coming against Liverpool, with some suggesting he has the potential to be the next Thierry Henry.

But Martinez says he could have ended up at Goodison Park before his eventual move to Louis van Gaal's side, as his side sought a loan bid for the youngster when he was struggling for game time at Monaco.

"We followed Martial when he moved to Monaco and at that time he couldn't get any playing time. We saw him play with the Under-21s for France."

"I must admit we never had that profile of a number nine. He was a wide player and that was the player we were trying to get on loan. We had a little bit of an opportunity but it never materialised."

While a permanent move for Martial was probably never likely given the big fee United paid for his services, and reported interest from Arsenal as well, Everton's interest in him does have a positive light.

Similar to the captures of Gerard Deulofeu, Romelu Lukaku, as well as youngsters such as Brendan Galloway, it shows that Everton's scouting system is one of the best at identifying top young talent for the future.

That is a positive going forward, as given our relative lack of funds, developing our own young talent is a route that could work for us as a side.