Jamie Carragher has apologised to Lisandro Martinez for predicting he would fail at Manchester United due to his height.
United paid £46.8million, rising to £55.3m, to Ajax last summer for Martinez to reunite with Erik ten Hag, but the signing was heavily scrutinised by pundits who confidently predicted he would flop due to his diminutive stature.
Although Martinez stands at just 5ft 9in and he's the smallest centre-back in the league, those predictions have been proved wrong, as the 25-year-old has been outstanding in his first season and key in the club's turnaround of fortunes.
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Martinez is a strong contender to be named United's player of the season and Carragher, speaking on Monday Night Football, acknowledged he got it wrong after United's defeat by Brentford in August, when he confidently asserted that Martinez at United "can't work".
Acknowledging his prediction was wide of the mark, Carragher said: "That’s not about Lisandro Martinez (being too short for the league), that’s about any centre-back coming to the Premier League who is well under six-foot you think is going to have a problem.
"But he hasn’t and every player has weaknesses whatever that may be, whether it’s physically or technically, and the best players hide the weaknesses, nobody’s a perfect player. I just looked at him and thought, 'how can you overcome that in the Premier League?'
"I wasn’t the tallest centre-back and I used to go into games worried that I’m going to get found out and bullied. At times you lose big challenges and goals. I thought he’s two or three inches shorter than me.
"But just like with Casemiro, it’s a massive drop off when Martinez is not in the Manchester United team defensively but also his ability on the ball and playing out from the back.
"He’s a warrior, he’s a leader and when you think of that spine of the team certainly him and Casemiro, two new signings, they’ve made a huge difference.
"So apologies Lisandro and all Man United fans can you stop tweeting me about Lisandro Martinez now please!"
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