Anthony Martial gave his man-of-the-match award to his baby girl... while Manchester United may have found their own Anelka

• Anthony Martial has hit the ground running following move from Monaco
• Martial scored against Liverpool on his Manchester United debut 
• He followed up debut Premier League goal by netting double at St Mary's 
• Louis Saha and Federico Macheda scored in their first two league games 

By Mike Keegan For Mailonline

Published: 04:50 EST, 21 September 2015 | Updated: 08:28 EST, 21 September 2015

A sobering thought for Manchester United fans caught up in the early stages of Martial mania: in the Premier League era only Louis Saha and Federico Macheda have scored two goals in their first two matches for the club.

Saha, a £12.4million signing from Fulham in 2004, would go on to hit the net seven times in his first 10 matches.

But the Frenchman would see the majority of his Old Trafford career struck by a succession of injuries and by the time he left for Everton in 2008, for an undisclosed fee in a pay-as-you-play deal, he had managed to start just 67 matches and come off the bench 38 times. 

Manchester United new boy Anthony Martial celebrates his second goal against Southampton on Sunday

Martial receives a hug from Manchester United team-mate Marouane Fellaini following the 3-2 win

Martial slots the ball past Southampton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg to hand United the lead

The Manchester United man gave his Barclays Premier League man-of-the-match award to his daughter, Toto

When Saha departed for Merseyside the feeling of what might have been was unavoidable.

Macheda, who (if you can believe it) is still only 24, was United's shooting star, exploding onto the scene at 17 with a brace on his debut before sadly fading away.

The Italian took off on a wonderfully diverse stint on the road, with loan spells at Sampdoria, QPR, VfB Stuttgart, Doncaster Rovers (twice) and Birmingham City.

That unlikely path would lead to Cardiff City, following his inevitable release by United.

This, as the saying goes, is lies, damned lies and statistics.

The truth is that Anthony Martial has already shown us enough to suggest that, should he stay clear of injuries, he can elevate himself above the men he shares that record with.

Oh how they laughed when it emerged United had paid £36m for a relatively unknown 19-year-old on deadline day.

A closer look at the add-ons reported in France - further installments of £7m when he plays his 25th game, gets his 10th cap and finishes in the top-20 list of Europe's best players, only added to the guffaws. 

Martial's wife Samantha (pictured taking a selfie with the Man United forward) is expecting another child

Martial skips past the challenge of Southampton's Matt Targett during Sunday's game at St Mary's

David de Gea poses for a picture with Martial following Manchester United's league win at Southampton

Martial has followed Federico Macheda (left) and Louis Saha by scoring in his first two games at Man United

Here was more evidence that Ed Woodward had lost the plot. Another transfer window ending with the United executive vice chairman rushing around the supermarket of Europe, desperately looking for something to fling into his red trolley.

Who is laughing now?

United told us that they were buying potential, raw talent, and that they had moved quickly to fend off interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

But it is Martial's composure that is worth getting excited about.

Martial scores his first goal of the game against Southampton to level the score at 1-1 in the first half

The 19-year-old France international opened his Manchester United account by scoring against Liverpool

Martial joined Manchester United in a deal which could cost the Red Devils over £50million 

You can see raw talent on the muddy fields of League Two - it is why giantkilling will never die.

A cool head and an ability to deal with pressure, on the other hand, are almost priceless.

We saw both on Martial's debut. Picking the ball up on the edge of the area, against Liverpool and in front of the Stretford End, he had one thing on his mind. Seconds later, after slaloming between Martin Skrtel and Nathaniel Clyne the ball was in the bottom corner and Martin Tyler was in full 'Aguerooooo' mode.

At St Mary's on Sunday there was more evidence.

The way Martial suckered Virgil van Dijk before passing the ball into the bottom corner suggested that Louis van Gaal has a natural-born goalscorer on his hands.

Fellow summer signing Memphis Depay celebrates with Martial following the Frenchman's goal at St Mary's

Martial acknowledges the travelling Manchester United supporters after helping his side claim all three points

After the break he was at it again. This time showing great awareness to seize Maya Yoshida's short backpass before pausing for thought and clinically side-footing home.

Most of the comparisons so far have been with Thierry Henry.

The pair both come from the same rough and ready Paris suburb and have arrived in England having honed their trades at Monaco.

But perhaps it is another Frenchman that Martial bears a closer resemblance to despite the extravagant difference in price.

Nicolas Anelka, who moved to England for just £500,000, was 17 when he came to Arsenal from Paris St Germain. In his first full season (after breaking his duck against United) he would be the Gunners' top scorer with 17.

He had pace and strength but, like Martial, possessed a cool head beyond his tender years.

The Frenchman will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Thierry Henry by becoming a Premier League legend

Nicolas Anelka scored 17 goals in his first full season for Arsenal at the tender age of just 17

United fans will hope that Martial's spell at the club does not end with a move to Real Madrid.

For the time being Van Gaal is doing his best to ease some the pressure. 'When you are 19 years old, you cannot expect any consistency,' he warned after the final whistle at Southampton. 'Mostly, they shall have a lot of dips. That's not a big problem.'

But the beaming Dutchman, who often plays his cards close to his chest, could not help revealing the ace in Martial's pack.

'He has a high level of talent and he shows it under great pressure,' he said. 'That may be his greatest talent.'

Despite the stories of Saha and Macheda, along with Van Gaal's words call for caution, it will be very difficult for United fans not to get carried away.

Although, given that Martial gave his man-of-the-match award to his baby daughter, Toto, it looks as though the youngster has his feet firmly on the ground.

Saha ended his career at Lazio after announcing his retirement in 2013, while Macheda is at Cardiff 

United boss Louis van Gaal is confident that Martial has his best years ahead of him in English football

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