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LES ULIS. — Les Ulis is not a chic suburb of Paris but it deserves a monument as a nursery of French football talent, after producing Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra now Anthony Martial.

It could have been different for the Manchester United star however as he prepares for the European Championship finals. A sign at the entrance to the Janvier tower, the public housing block where the Martial family lived, declares: “Ball games forbidden.”

Now the district is a draw for football pilgrims. “That’s where Anthony Martial lived,” said Gaye Niakate, a neighbour who told of the regular visits. “Once it was three English journalists. I had to pass the phone to my wife who speaks English,” he laughed. Martial has only been an international star for a few months. “But we have been talking about ‘Toto’ for a long time,” added Niakate, using the teenager’s childhood nickname. — AFP.