"He's a warrior and I think the fans will admire him. He has an attitude, fighting spirit. He brings aggressiveness in the game, in a good way. I think we need that. But also, he's skilful and he can deal with the ball, and he's left-footed."
When it comes to Lisandro Martinez, you are almost guaranteed to get glowing report after glowing report from Erik ten Hag - just like the above quote from an interview with club media upon the player joining the club. Thus, it should come as absolutely no surprise that the Manchester United manager pushed aside a number of other targets to intently pursue the services of Martinez, who he worked with for three years at Ajax.
Martinez's career begun in his native Argentina in the youth ranks at Newell's Old Boys. But after only a single appearance in the senior side, he moved to Defensa y Justicia, where he played 58 times before making the switch to Amsterdam ahead of Ten Hag's second full season with Ajax. Spanning 118 outings for the Dutch outfit, Martinez won two league titles in addition to one cup victory; in the most recent 2021/22 campaign, his performances warranted Ajax's player of the season award.
Over the course of the past three years, Martinez's stock has understandably risen astronomically. Ajax paid a transfer fee of £6.3million to acquire the player in 2019, and they have now gained a sum that could rise to north of £50million when you factor in add-ons as Martinez departs the club for United.
At 24 years-old, he has also won a respectable seven caps for the Argentinian national team, including featuring once in their Copa America winning run last year. And whilst he has never featured in a so-called 'major' European league at club level, it is clear that Martinez already has pedigree at the top level through both his international experience and Champions League wealth with Ajax.
There is no doubt that he has the character to take the step up to the challenge of adapting to Premier League football. Ten Hag has spoken about the "need" for players with Martinez's fighting spirit, alluding to the strength of his character, as well as footballing ability, in the quote outlined at the start of this piece.
"They call me The 'Carnicero' (Butcher) of Amsterdam," Martinez says. "We Argentinians do everything with passion, and, when I go on the field, I fight for every ball. If I have to step over corpses, I do."
Martinez is an aggressive player, but in a way that Ten Hag describes as "controlled". But there is no doubt that he fits in the bracket of combative defenders, exemplified by his high intensity approach that often sees him press high against attackers. Ten Hag says that this is his "South American spirit".
"When I step on the pitch, I think back on the times I couldn't even buy shoes," Martinez explains. "This is why we are so combative. Argentinian's kill to win."
It comes as no surprise that Martinez had the highest duel success (154 out of 222 - 69.4 per cent) of any player to contest more than 150 duels in the Eredivisie last season. He ranked inside the top one per cent of centre-backs in Europe for his average number of tackles per 90 minutes (3.13), with an exemplary tackle success rate of 86 per cent in the league last term.
His proactivity and willingness to push onto attackers is emphasised by the fact he ranked inside the top two per cent of centre-backs in Europe for both dribblers contested and dribblers tackled throughout 2021/22. He also made a total of 46 interceptions across 24 Eredivisie appearances, displaying his awareness to danger.
But the front-footed defensive side of Martinez's game isn't all that stands out. He is one of the best centre-backs around in terms of his technical ability. From defence, he is always heavily involved, regularly taking over one touch per minute during matches, placing him in the very top bracket for centre-backs in Europe. He was also in the top one per cent of centre-backs in Europe for the total number of passes he played last season.
In fact, Martinez ranks deep inside the top 10 per cent for the majority of passing metrics, possessing one of the widest passing ranges that you will find amongst players in his position. He completed the most long balls per match (5.4) of any outfield Ajax player in the league last term; aside from Daley Blind at an average of only 0.3 less, Martinez led the statistic by a margin of 2.6 long balls completed per 90 minutes. Overall, he completed an average of above 70 passes per game in the Eredivisie last season at an accuracy of 89 per cent across the campaign.
The progressive passing ability that Martinez holds is an integral aid to transitional phases that will certainly help United improve in that department. In Europe last season, Martinez was also inside the top one per cent of centre-backs for total progressive passes, through balls, shot creating actions and assists per 90 minutes.
In the most recent campaign, Blind and Trent Alexander-Arnold were the only defenders in Europe's top seven leagues (which includes the Eredivisie and Portuguese Primeira Liga) to play more passes into the final third than Martinez, who played an average of 13.4 per match. His expected assists total of 5.01 last season was 1.98 greater than that of all of United's centre-backs combined, whilst he created 17 chances across 24 Eredivisie matches last term.
His progressive nature doesn't only show through his passing, either. Across the 2021/22 Eredivisie campaign, Martinez completed 15 take-ons, with an overall completion rate of 83 per cent. He is comfortable when it comes to carrying the ball out from defence, ranking inside the top one percent of centre-backs in Europe last season for carries (with an average of 69) and progressive carrying distance per game.
Martinez also offers something different to United by way of the fact that he is left-footed. Without Martinez, there was a possibility that United would head into the new campaign with six existing senior centre-backs that are all right-footed vying for a spot in the side.
And everything that has been said and done so far this pre-season does point towards the fact that Martinez could play a sizeable role this coming season in the left centre-back role. Ten Hag told the media: "I analysed and United last year were quite vulnerable over the left part of defence. He is left-footed and that is an advantage in possession but also in defending."
It has seemed that Ten Hag is freeing up the left centre-back berth for Martinez to occupy, with both Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire tested on the right side so far on tour; Maguire often played on the left last term, so his shift to the opposite side suggests Ten Hag is keen to change the centre-back configuration. Alex Telles has, in all three pre-season matches so far, been used as a left centre-back in the second half as opposed to in his usual left-back position, which, considering he is left-footed, could indicate Martinez's role has been simulated somewhat by Ten Hag.
In the modern game, it is growingly important to have centre-backs with their outside foot as their stronger foot. This aids ball progression as better and wider ranges of passing angles are offered, with improved pass trajectories in terms of the direction of curve placed on the ball.
This isn't the only merit that will come from Martinez having a regular place in the side though. As has been touched on, he possesses abilities both on the ball and from an outright defensive standpoint that make him a very complete centre-back. In addition, he is accustomed to Ten Hag's high line unlike United's existing crop of centre-backs, which should help to fast-track his adaptation into the side.
Everything really does seem to point towards Martinez playing a frequent role this coming season. Given the injury woes suffered by centre-backs, especially Raphael Varane, last term, Martinez would likely play a significant part even if he was to be assigned a rotational role; the season is also set to be one of the most rigorous given the mid-season World Cup, and depth is set to be more important than ever.
"This is a season with even more games than ever, by the World Cup," Ten Hag exclaims. "You need depth in the squad, so we need more than 11 starting players and we are working on that."
Something that lots has been made of in terms of Martinez's suitability to the centre-back role (which he favours) is his height at only five-foot-nine. But, fear not, he remains very impressive in an aerial capacity through a powerful, well-judged leap, with Ten Hag labelling Martinez's "timing" as a key asset. He is clearly a player that uses his intelligence to make up for shortcomings such as his height, for example by positioning his body in a particular way in order to succeed in duels; he is able to remain a physical presence despite being one of the smallest centre-backs around.
In terms of his aerial capabilities, the most representative numbers come from the Champions League last season. For example, he exceeded both the total number and percentage of aerial duels won by Ruben Dias per game, whilst he matched the number and exceeded the percentage won by Maguire per 90 minutes. Furthermore, Martinez won a higher amount of aerial duels than six-foot-three former United target Pau Torres per match, matching his success rate.
Martinez also held the best success rate of any Eredivisie player to contest over 100 aerial duels last season at 70.2 per cent. He hasn't been partnered with a particularly tall centre-back either, with Jurrien Timber only standing at one inch taller than Martinez. Ajax still only conceded 19 goals last season.
Martinez's height serves as a more distinguishable benefit in terms of his mobility, making him one of the more agile centre-backs. This has, conjunct with his technical prowess, press-resistant nature and overall defensive numbers, led to suggestions that he could operate as a defensive midfielder, especially given that he does have some experience (transfermarkt suggest 22 games) in that department.
But, whilst it could be a possibility for Martinez to play in midfield, Ten Hag cited a lack of stamina as an issue after playing him in that role early in his Ajax days. From then on, Edson Alvarez replaced Martinez in the holding midfield role, with Martinez becoming a mainstay at centre-back.
Martinez has also played at left-back on very rare occasions, offering something very different to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia; he would be able to operate the inverted role or sit deeper to the left of a back three. But, given that he has little experience in attacking areas as Ten Hag also likes from his full-backs, it would likely be a last resort for Martinez to operate at left-back.
So, will Martinez be worth the fee that United have paid, making him the second-most expensive defender in the club's history?
Well, it remains to be seen. He is, no doubt, expensive for a player unproven in Europe's top leagues. But Ten Hag has particular nous in the market, thus it feels unlikely that he will have ordered the club to spend such money on a player that he doesn't trust to be a significant part of his project at United.
There is certainly plenty of evidence to suggest that Martinez could become a noteworthy feature of Erik ten Hag's Manchester United rebuild.
Credit for statistics: SofaScore, Transfermarkt, Statman Dave, Opta, Squawka, StatsBomb via FBRef
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