Rio Ferdinand has voiced his excitement as Manchester United close in on the signing of Lisandro Martinez, claiming that everything he hears about the 24-year-old just "gets better".
Martinez flew to the United Kingdom on Friday evening in order to finalise his £46million transfer to Old Trafford. The Argentina international was a key player under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and their reunion in the Premier League is being met with plenty of anticipation.
Ferdinand is among those who are excited by the imminent arrival and has been hearing "mutterings from different people" about what United can expect from their new signing. The former England star - a world-class centre-back in his playing days - is particularly pleased the Red Devils are adding an authoritative defender to their ranks.
"The more I've looked into him and the vibes and the stories I'm hearing and the mutterings from different people – it gets better," Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube channel of Martinez.
"I listened to an interview with Jurrien Timber, the young player that United were looking to sign, the centre-back Martinez played alongside at Ajax. He was basically saying, 'When I'm not on my game and a bit out of concentration, Martinez always shouts at me, he always swears at me in in his language and gets me going'.
"I've been shouting about the character element for a long time and from what I'm hearing from various people, Timber being one of them, is that he has the character, he's a leader. He [makes] demands of other people and he's somebody who wants to get physical and very aggressive but who can also play."
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Ferdinand does, however, have two concerns about Martinez, who stands at just 5'9", which is much smaller than the majority of Premier League centre-backs. He added: "If you're going to ask is there any question marks about him, I think it would be his height and his pace would be the only two."
Nonetheless, the Red Devils legend is excited about the versatility Martinez will bring to Ten Hag's squad, as he can also play in midfield or at left-back. "I think there'll be a mix because he's very comfortable at playing both positions," Ferdinand said while discussing where Martinez will line up.
"If it suits them to play him in midfield and they want the extra body, an extra bit of resilience in front of the back four, protection and somebody who knows how to defend in there, then I think they may be utilising that. But if we've got a lot of the ball and we're expecting to dominate possession against the so-called lesser teams, maybe then he may not be called in for that position and may slot back into the centre-back position or maybe not even starting."
