On Wednesday, Manchester United finally announced the signing of Lisandro Martinez in a £55.3million transfer from Ajax. The Argentina defender, 24, has agreed a five-year deal with the Reds, with the option of a further year.
Upon completing the move, Martinez thanked Ajax and stated he was now at the “perfect club” to test himself.
Speaking to the official United club website, the Argentine said: “I want to thank Ajax and their fans for all the support they gave me, I had an unbelievable time there but feel the moment is right to test myself in another environment. Now I am at the perfect club to do that.”
While Martinez has still yet to play his first game for the Reds, the early signs over pre-season have been good in terms of him forging a spot in Erik ten Hag’s side.
United captain Harry Maguire has played almost exclusively on the left of United’s central defence for much of his time at the club. Yet over pre-season, he’s been starting on the right. As the only left-footed central defender at the club, this suggests that Martinez could be set to be the first choice on the left going forward this season.
If this is the case, then it’s very likely we see Martinez in United’s starting XI for the beginning of their Premier League campaign which starts with a home clash against Brighton.
Brighton of course handed United an embarrassing 4-0 defeat as recently as May, simultaneously securing their biggest ever top-flight win. Revenge for that loss will no doubt be at the forefront of the Reds’ plans, yet it’s immediately after that game where arguably United’s biggest early tests await.
Following that clash with the Seagulls, United will travel to Brentford before welcoming old foes Liverpool to Old Trafford. And it’s these two fixtures that in particular could prove testing for Martinez.
While his technical ability and good physical traits such as his pace have been well celebrated, there are legitimate concerns about his size. The Argentina international stands at just 5ft10, which is small compared to many other top central defenders from across Europe. In fact, he actually ranks among the smallest 10 per cent of central defenders across the division.
Both Brentford and Liverpool boast players with towering physical profiles, with Ivan Toney, Pontus Jansson, Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip just some of the potential threats that lie ahead for Martinez and United.
Their threat is enhanced by both sides' efficiency in terms of set-pieces. Last season, Liverpool ranked second across the Premier League in terms of the highest number of set-piece goals while Brentford ranked fourth.
Despite his size, Martinez did surprisingly have the fourth-best aerial duel success rate for centre-backs who played over 1000 minutes last season. Yet the Premier League is much more physical than the Eredivisie, meaning we’re sure to get a proper idea of just how good he actually is in this department in those opening weeks of the campaign.
