Lisandro Martinez has made quite the impression in Manchester United's last four Premier League matches after a struggling start to life at Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old made his United bow in their 2-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day, before being slammed following the Red Devils' 4-0 thumping at Brentford. Martinez was hooked at half-time with United four-nil down and he received some pretty brutal criticism after the game.
Gary Neville claimed that Martinez wasn't capable of playing in a back-four away at a team like Brentford and admitted the Bees targeted him while the Argentine was on the pitch. "Maybe on the left in a back three – that could potentially work," Neville told Sky Sports, when assessing what position Martinez would be better suited.
"Maybe playing in midfield, because we know he can do that. I think he’s got tenacity and, to be fair, I wouldn’t judge him at all at this moment in time.
"But to say he could play in a back four away at Brentford against [Ivan] Toney and [Bryan] Mbeumo – he physically can’t compete with them. I couldn’t when I was playing as a centre-back when I was younger, and I thought I was a decent centre-back who knew my position and knew the game. But I couldn’t do it because Gary Pallister had to keep coming over to swap with me.
"When I saw him [Martinez] swapping with Maguire in the first half at the long throws, it reminded me of Pally who used to swap with me. If you’re having to swap positions at centre-back to compensate for the other one it’s just not great and that’s what continually happened. They did target him in that first half."
Since then, Martinez has been a different beast and his up-turn in form has no doubt been helped by Raphael Varane after the former Real Madrid centre-back was recalled to the side for the 2-1 win over Liverpool. Martinez defended superbly against Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino on his flank, and was praised for how he bounced back after a disastrous display at the Brentford Community Stadium.
He backed this up with another impressive performance at Southampton as United recorded their first clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 victory thanks to Bruno Fernandes ' second-half strike. This was before Martinez was tested against Jamie Vardy and he stood up to the task superbly, keeping the 35-year-old forward at bay as the Red Devils kept another shut out in a 1-0 success at Leicester City.
Then Martinez would face arguably his sternest test during his time at the club, with Arsenal visiting Old Trafford. The Gunners had won every game before their trip to the North West, scoring 13 goals in the process. Gabriel Jesus was flying, but Martinez put in an excellent display to frustrate the £45m Brazilian, as United dented Arsenal's unbeaten start by winning 3-1, with Marcus Rashford scoring a brace.
So, how have the tables turned? Martinez looks to be a lot more comfortable alongside Varane and trusts the Frenchman to sweep up if Martinez is aggressive and goes to win the ball. He is very composed in possession, reads the game well and has pace - something Erik ten Hag thought his United side were lacking at the back with Maguire and Lindelof not the quickest of operators.
He has certainly earned plaudits inside Old Trafford too. A source told The Sun that Martinez has already impressed his teammates despite only playing just seven matches for the club.
The source said: "Martinez is a beast. He trains exactly how he plays he tackles and fights and does whatever it takes to win.
"He and Antony have slotted into the group really well because they already know what ten Hag expects because he managed them at Ajax. They have both been accepted quickly by the dressing room and have given the team a lot of energy. The squad hasn’t been this united for years."
Cristiano Ronaldo has often been branded a "beast" during his career for how he carries himself physically and how he performs on the training field. It seems as though Martinez has replicated some of Ronaldo's ideas on the training field and Ten Hag's ethos seems to be getting stronger.
