Everyone knows about Manchester United's defensive woes. Their inability to have a left-footed centre-back has cost them matches. This summer, Erik Ten Hag is on the hunt for a new left-footed defender. As per the transfer rumours Pau Torres is being linked with United. They also have kept Alessandro Bastoni as a backup option if the deal falls through. If the gaffer is unable to get both men, he will turn on to his old team for Lisandro Martinez.


Incoming Martinez


Martinez began his footballing journey at Club Urquiza and club Libertad, and then he played for the Argentinian famed club Newell’s Old Boys, where a certain Leo Messi passed through the ranks. He made his professional debut for the Old Boys in 2016-17. In the following year joined fellow Argentine Primera División side Defensa y Justicia on loan, which was made permanent in 2018. 


In 2019 the dutch giants Ajax poached the Argentinian, and soon after the medical, he penned a four-year contract with an option of a further year.


Position


His main position is as a centre-back but he can also play as a defensive midfielder and as a left-back.

Looking at his season's heatmap, we can see that all of his defensive and attacking work has been mostly left centric. It also shows his extremely high work rate. Being a defender he has covered the attacking areas of the pitch too. We will dive more in-depth to know more about the Argentinian. 


Passing


Martinez is known for his pinpoint passing. He ranks 99 percentile in successful passes. He has an eye for picking out his teammates, his long passes can find his teammates. He has made 15.13 successful long passes per 90 having a percentile of 98. The Argentinian defender has an eye for gold for picking out his teammates as he has 99 percentile in both key passes and progressive passes. He has made 0.7 per 90 key passes and he has made 7.88 progressive passes. He is a threat as he usually runs down the wing, covers the final third and sends chipped passes to his teammates to create shot and goal-scoring chances.