Is Louis van Gaal out of his mind? Are Manchester United just throwing money around because they can? What is going on? Who is Anthony Martial the new signing from AS Monaco?

Those were just a few of the questions being posed by fans and football media alike on deadline day, as Manchester United announced the transfer of French teenager Anthony Martial to Old Trafford. Normally, a promising young player like Martial (a 19-year-old forward who has played for Monaco since 2013) would net a fairly modest transfer fee.

Not so in this case, though: despite the fact that Martial has played a total of 72 games in his senior soccer career-and despite the fact that he's only netted 15 goals along the way-Louis van Gaal paid a reported £36 million to bring Martial to England. That number could-and according Monaco VP Vadim Vasilyev, will-rise to just shy of £58 million, with "very realistic" bonuses taken into account.

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Assessing That Transfer Fee

To put those numbers in perspective, Martial is already the most expensive teenage football player in Manchester United Third Shirt 2015 - 2016history (based on the upfront £36 million transfer). If bonuses push his fee to £58 million, he will become the most expensive French football player of all time-surpassing Zinedine Zidane, who Real Madrid paid Juventus £46 million for back in 2001.

If Martial's transfer fee rises to £58 million with bonuses, he would also be the most expensive transfer of the summer in the Premier League, surpassing Manchester City's two huge signings: Kevin de Bruyne, who cost £55 million; and Raheem Sterling, who cost £49 million. Finally, a £58 million signing would make Martial the second most expensive soccer player in Premier League history, after Manchester United's own ill-fated £59.7 million signing of Angel di Maria last summer.

In other words? Louis van Gaal just paid premium, best-player-in-the-world level pricing for an unproven and largely undeveloped player who hasn't even seen 100 caps on the senior level yet. Make no mistake, this is easily the most bizarre development of the now-concluded summer transfer window.

The Caveat: Anthony Martial's Bonuses

Of course, Martial's bonuses are contingent on big successes at Manchester United, so it's entirely possible that the Red Devils could just end up paying less than £58 million for the French teenager in the long run.

Here's how Martial's bonuses work: Manchester United will pay extra if and when Martial hits the 25-goal mark (across all competitions) for them; they'll pay extra if he earns 25 caps for the French national team before June 2019; they'll pay extra if he wins the Ballon d'Or at any point during his four-year contract; and they'll pay extra every time they qualify for the Champions League with Martial on the soccer squad.

Some of those bonuses seem quite realistic: United reaching the Champions League, for instance. Others are a bit less likely, like Martial winning the Ballon d'Or before he turns 25-especially considering the fact that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still probably going to be playing in prime form for a few more years.

The message here is clear, though: Manchester United expect big, big things from Anthony Martial, and they were willing to promise Monaco a lot of money to make this transfer happen. In fact, Martial was not up for sale at all from the French football club, and Louis van Gaal had to make a number of attractive offers before Anthony finally asked Monaco to make the transfer work.

What Will Martial Bring to Old Trafford

Of course, with such high hopes (and so much money) riding on Anthony Martial, he will be under an unenviable amount of pressure when he first dons the Manchester United jersey 2015 2016 this season.

Unlike the Premier League's other expensive transfers this summer, Martial has mostly flown under the radar so far in his career. That's not to say he hasn't been a strong player: he was AS Monaco's top scorer in 2014 2015, netting nine goals in Ligue 1 and 12 overall (across 46 appearances). He Manchester United Home Shirt 2015 - 2016helped Monaco to a successful season, which included a third place league finish, quarterfinal runs in both the Coupe de France and the UEFA Champions League, and a semifinal berth in the Coupe de la Ligue. Considering that Martial doesn't even turn 20 until December, the impact he already managed to have at Monaco is pretty impressive, and he might just be soccer's next big star in the making.

Manchester United clearly think so, but what about you? Is Martial the heir apparent to Messi and Ronaldo as the world's best offensive footballer, or did Louis van Gaal make a big career error by paying so much for such a young player? Share your thoughts with Soccer Box we can be found on multiple social networks including Facebook, Pinterest, and Google +. Why not also shop for one of the brand new Manchester United jerseys, we have the home, away and third kits available in kids and adult sizes.