Lisandro Martinez has become the third signing of the Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United and his arrival brings plenty of possibilities to the side.
The 24-year-old has joined the club for an initial £46.8million fee , with a further £8.5m set to come in add-ons, bringing the total up to £55.3m. He has agreed to a five-year contract worth £120,000 and joins Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen at the club.
In the statement announcing his arrival, Manchester United described him as “Argentine international defender Lisandro Martinez”. Although that is true – he has won seven caps for his country and played the majority of his 118 appearances for Ajax in defence – it doesn’t properly reflect Martinez’s flexibility.
When Martinez first joined Ajax from Argentine side Defensa y Justicia in 2019, he arrived as a midfielder. Ten Hag wanted to use him as a “brain for central midfield” following the departure of Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona.
Initially, Martinez found the position and the style played by Ajax hugely challenging. "At the beginning, I felt like going home and crying," he told La Nacion in 2020. "The first few weeks were horrible. Different intensity. Different control. Different passes. Different reading of the game.” But he soon got up to speed and got used to the position.
Only later did Martinez moved back into his now more familiar position in left central defence . His strong left foot means he is also more than capable of playing at left-back. It is this tactical versatility which makes him such a useful signing for United. He is the only left-footed central defender at the club , which potentially opens up passing lanes when in possession.
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However, Ten Hag might be tempted to use Martinez as a holding midfielder. With the pursuit of Barcelona’s De Jong yet to bring a breakthrough , Ten Hag is still without his number one transfer target. The arrival of Eriksen has eased the dearth of midfielders slightly, but it remains a weak position following the departures of Paul Pobga and Nemanja Matic.
Martinez is unusual for a central defender in that he is only 5ft 10in. That wasn’t a problem in winning headers – he won 70 per cent of his headers in the Eredivisie last season, the highest success rate of any player to contest more than 100 – but another statistic suggests he’d be an asset in midfield.
According to Opta, Martinez completed an average of 82.3 passes per 90 minutes – more than any player to play more than 10 times in last season's Eredivisie. With De Jong yet to arrive and an over-reliance on Fred and Scott McTominay one of the problems during last season, Martinez could easily be slotted into midfield. It is a position the Argentine would happily play.
"I'm not closed to anything,” he told Ole last year. “The day I get to play central midfielder, I'll do it again. If that helps the team, I'm going to do it. The same as from full-back. I consider myself a versatile player who is always predisposed to give my best beyond any position."
He added: “Playing as a central midfielder changes you in decision making. You usually have less time and space. It is another type of panorama when it comes to playing. It is key to perfect the controls and always receive well outlined to save time. It's a nice position. Although it is also true that if you play as a defender and the rival presses you high, you don't have much time to play either.”
United are still chasing De Jong. He is the player Ten Hag wants to complete his midfield . But there is arguably less competition for places for Martinez in midfield than there is in defence, where captain Harry Maguire occupies his preferred position of left centre-back. Martinez’s versatility means he could easily be moved forward into midfield during the upcoming season. It is a position that would perhaps suit him better.
“As a centre-back I prefer that they come to pressure me,” he added. “I like to take risks at the start and I feel that we are prepared to be able to break those high pressure lines and come out playing. If you succeed, many spaces open up for you to hurt.”
