Chris Smalling admits he is excited by the stunning start Anthony Martial has made at Manchester United.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when United decided to splash a whopping £36million to secure the services of Martial from Monaco over the summer but the teenager has already repaid some of that hefty transfer fee by scoring four goals in his first five appearances for the club.

Due to his goalscoring exploits, Martial has already caught the imagination of the United faithful and now defender Smalling has stated that the young man's fine start has left even his Red Devils teammates excited.

Smalling said: "If you could ask for a moment to announce yourself on the world stage, it would be in a massive game like Liverpool at home. It was a great moment and a lot of people took notice of how well he dribbled at players, how direct he was and how he took his goal.

"That's something we've needed this season. He continued his good form by scoring twice at Southampton and again against Ipswich, so he's enjoyed a great start to his United career.

"In that snippet against Liverpool, you get a real idea of how he is. He is one who is very direct, he is willing to take on players and he is willing to take on that risk. He looks a very sharp player."