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. His ball-playing ability saw him being linked with top tier clubs.
His pass maps show where he has made most of the passes. He has made long diagonal passes to the opponent’s half.
Defensive Actions
Looking at his defensive actions, we can see that he has a strong imposing physique to win the ball from the opponents. He has no issue going dirty and lunging into opponents to win the ball. He is known for winning duels, as he has won 3.1 ground duels per 90 having a percentage of 69%. He ranks 90 percentile in recovering the ball in the opponent’s half. He has made 1.9 interceptions per game. He jumps in to intercept dangerous passes and shots mostly in his half. He is a nightmare for the attackers as he excels in one vs one duel. The Ajax player engages in aerial duels, having won 3.3 per 90, with a percentage of 71%. He has mostly pressurised his opponents in the middle third having won 4.75 per 90 of them.
He made 3.13 tackles per 90, which puts him in the 99 percentile. Out ofthose he won 1.88 per 90 tackles he made putting him into the 98 percentile only behind Atalanta’s Jose Luis Palomino who has won 2.88 of tackles made per 90.
We can see his defensive points where he made his actions. We can see that he has made most of them in his defensive third and the six yards box.
The heatmap depicts where the Argentinian has made most of the defensive actions. We can see that he has made it in his half and the middle third. He has made 8.48 recoveries per 90.
He excels in Aerial duels. He jumps to battle for the ball and he wins mostly all of them despite his small stature. He has made 4.79 Aerial duels per 90 out of which he won 2.88 per 90 taking his aerial duels won to 60.2 % per 90.
Possession
The Argentinian is a ball-playing defender progressing the ball from the back. He is calm and composed in the back which helps him in dictating the play. His positional awareness and the vigour to win the ball, allows him to move the ball forward and play slick passes to his teammates in the form of long diagonal passes, key passes, progressive passes etc.
In his previous season, he has been deployed as a deep-lying midfielder, and that role helped him to shield the ball in tight areas.
Looking at his touches, he has made the majority of his touches in the middle third with a 99 percentile having made 60.75 touches per 90. The Argentinian is a good carrier with the ball as he has carried the ball to the opponent’s half 69.00 per 90, and he has progressively carried the ball 6.13 per 90.
Final Review
The young Argentinian, despite his young age(24), shows the maturity of a seasoned defender. His cool demeanour and composure on the ball bring stability to the backline. His short stature has never been an issue in lunging for tackle and jumping to win every aerial duel. That’s why Erik Ten Hag is keen on bringing him along with Jurrien Timber. If United are not able to get Pau Torres or Alessandro Bastoni, then the board should have a look at the Argentinian who can play in multiple positions. It would make United’s backline more stellar and stronger than last season when it was in utter chaos. It remains to be seen where Martinez ends up.
