Teenage Kicks

HIT




                                    MISS
                                                           

The Transfer Window saw Anthony Martial become the 21st highest transfer in history and the costliest teenager in world football when he signed for Manchester United from Monaco for £36m. However this type of record is not new to Manchester United.

When they signed Ruud Van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for £19m in 2001 they broke the National Club record and did the it again the same year when signing Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio for £28.1m. The following year saw the £30m paid to Leeds United for Rio Ferdinand also break the British record at the time and in 2014 Angel Di Maria's transfer from Real Madrid again broke the National Club record.

Wayne Rooney from Everton in 2004, Anderson from Porto in 2007 and Luke Shaw from Southampton in 2014 were also the most expensive teenage transfers at the time.

As well as breaking records they have also signed other expensive players in the Top 90 of all time such as Robin Van Persie ( 88th ), Marouane Fellaini ( 80th ), Ander Herrera ( 61st ), Dimitar Berbatov ( 57th ), Juan Mata ( 30th ).

Thirteen players out of the top 100 most expensive transfers is a high percentage, but only one higher as their noisy neighbours City who have purchased 12, making it 25% for the city of Moneychester.

Like Anderson proved for example at Manchester United, money doesn't always guarantee success as these other 'big' transfers of the time proved:-

Wayne Harrison became the most expensive 17-year-old in the world when he signed for Liverpool from Oldham for £250,000 in 1985. However a terrible accident saw him fall through a greenhouse, almost dying due to loss of blood, and never played a first-team game for the Reds.
When Mark Kennedy signed for Liverpool they broke the British teenage transfer record for the 18-year-old when they signed him from Millwall for £1.5m in 1995. He made just five league starts before leaving for Wimbledon in 1998.

Jermaine Pennant, another future Liverpool player, became the most expensive trainee in British football when he signed for Arsenal for £2.5m as a 15-year-old from Notts County. Disciplinary problems have got in the way of his career, including a spell in prison for drink-driving offences.