Football
Mark Rodden 9y

Man United's Anthony Martial will face 'difficult periods' - Deschamps

France coach Didier Deschamps has warned Anthony Martial to expect a dip in form after his explosive start to life at Manchester United but believes the striker has the ability to overcome it.

Martial, 19, has scored four goals in six games for United since his £36 million switch from Monaco earlier this month.

Many observers have been surprised at how quickly the former Lyon player has adapted to the Premier League, although ex-France under-21 manager Willy Sagnol and Monaco captain Jeremy Toulalan both felt Martial could justify the hype.

Deschamps, 46, previously declared that Martial was "changing galaxy" with his move to Old Trafford.

Speaking after including the teenager in the France squad for games against Armenia and Denmark next week, the former Juventus midfielder said he was pleased to see Martial get off to a good start in England.

"The potential was there but there were a lot of people who were surprised that he's been so effective," Deschamps told a news conference on Tuesday.

"But he has that quality and he's surrounded by good players.

"It's good for him because it's not easy with everything that was said and written about him.

"In terms of potential, he has everything. He's young so he might have some more difficult periods later. But he's capable of doing some very good things.

"He did so at Monaco and now he's doing it at another level with Manchester United so it takes on even more significance. The quality of the player is there anyway."

Another 19-year-old on Deschamps' radar is Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman, who has featured in five matches for the German champions this season since joining on loan from Juventus.

The former Paris Saint-Germain player has not yet been included in the senior squad but, having already scored twice in the Bundesliga, Deschamps said Coman was in his thoughts.

"At the moment he's involved with the under-21s and he's getting some minutes with Bayern, which is obviously linked to the injuries to Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben," Deshcamps said.

"But he's doing some very interesting things and not just in any team. He did them at Juventus too.

"He's capable of playing in several attacking positions... At his age, even if he has steps to make, he has very interesting potential."

While Martial dominated the headlines ahead of the last international break, the inclusion of Lassana Diarra in Deschamp's squad after a five-year absence is set to be the focus this time.

The former Real Madrid defensive midfielder, 30, has impressed for Marseille this season after being forced to sit out the last campaign due to a contract dispute with his previous club Lokomotiv Moscow.

However, former France international Luis Fernandez -- now an influential radio presenter -- would have liked to see Diarra prove his fitness and form over a longer period before earning a recall.

"For me it's premature, even if Lassana's performances since the start of the season have been remarkable and fantastic," he told RMC Sport.

"It's a bit like the case of Hatem Ben Arfa. I would have preferred maybe to wait a little bit too.

"Why? Because we've only played eight league matches and we don't know where Lassana will be in two months or six months."

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