Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has praised Manchester United counterpart Lisandro Martinez after the Argentine received early criticism.
Martinez, like Van Dijk before him, arrived in the Premier League after impressing in the Eredivisie early in his career. There were some teething problems for the former Ajax man after his £55m summer move to Old Trafford, though, not least when he was hooked at half-time in United's humbling defeat at Brentford in August.
The 24-year-old has started to turn things around, taking Harry Maguire's place in the starting XI and helping Erik ten Hag's team climb the table. Martinez has also won his first player of the month award in United colours - and Van Dijk is the latest to be impressed.
"People talking about Lisandro Martinez and his height, are talking absolute rubbish," Van Dijk said on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet. Ten Hag felt the need to play down concerns about the 5'10" defender's height over the summer, before the former Ajax man made his Premier League bow.
"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."
Martinez has played all 12 of United's Premier League games, helping Ten Hag's side knock on the door of the Champions League spots. That run included a 2-1 victory over Liverpool back in August - United's first league win under their new manager.
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Liverpool sit seven points behind United after finishing comfortably ahead of them last season, and Van Dijk joked that he didn't want Martinez helping his new club pip the Anfield side to trophies. "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!" the former Southampton man added.
"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."
Martinez is due to travel to the upcoming World Cup with Argentina, having played twice in the last international break. Centre-back is a competitive position for the Albiceleste, with Tottenham's Christian Romero another option, but pundit Ian Wright shares Van Dijk's positivity about the Man Utd defender.
"He’s got defensive quality that I haven’t seen at Manchester United for a while," former Arsenal striker Wright said of Martinez. "Not only his positioning but he passes the ball through the lines. He’s exactly what they’ve needed."
