Lisandro Martinez has recovered from a slow start to become one of Manchester United's key men.
The Argentine centre-half arrived as a big-money arrival from Ajax, following the same path of manager Erik ten Hag. He was singled out for criticism in the early defeats to Brighton and Brentford, with many sceptical over his lack of height in a position where players are regularly over six foot tall.
He has since recovered from that slow start and has won plenty of praise - and now one of his peers has added his voice to the growing list of admirers. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk says people who simply write Martinez off because of his 5ft9in frame are "talking rubbish".
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Speaking on the Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet, van Dijk said: "People talking about Lisandro Martínez and his height, are talking absolute rubbish. It can help as a centre-back if you’re a bit taller, but what he’s done since coming to the Premier League, has been good. He’s a good signing for Manchester United, he’s good on the ball, he’s very passionate, so I can only speak positively about him.
"I have respect for what he’s achieved so far, and I hope he does well at United, but that he doesn’t get successful there with winning trophies!
"In England, everyone loves criticising players about everything, but that’s fine because you can’t change it. Lisandro has shown many good performances already, and he shouldn’t think about the outside noise around him."
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