I've seen a lot of people discussing this player and this topic with many of them talking about where he would play in Amorim's first team were everyone fit.
Those are the two points that I want to discuss: where he would play and if he would play.
Sounding like Mourinho there 😅.
We all love the butcher. Not only is he a top player, he has that thing about him, you know? The way he carries himself and how he struts out onto the pitch, it shows a man beaming with confidence. As he is from Argentina, the passion, heart and energy he plays with just makes him a further fan favorite. You really do love to see that fight on the pitch.
Those are the type of characters we need at United.
And he has an awesome nickname.
But, and unfortunately there is a but, is he the most reliable?
Injuries have hampered what couldv'e been a better career for the 26 year old World Cup winner at Old Trafford but over the last two years, we've seen that this has become a major problem for The Butcher.
Injuries
Let's look at those injuries then.
He was never seen as a player who was injury prone before he moved to United. He missed just 13 games for Ajax and Argentina between 19/20 and 21/22 with 10 of those games coming in his final season in the Netherlands (a muscle injury kept him on the side lines for 63 days). That was the only significant issue he had prior to his move to Old Trafford.
And for most of that first season with us, he was fine. A bit of a shaky start and being put on his arse by Mo Salah in that game were the only times when questions may have been asked of Martinez.
Beyond that, he showed exactly what he was all about and why he was brought to the club. Even with his height deficiency, The Butcher more than made up for that with his other attributes, ones that would certainly elevate our game and how then manager Erik ten Hag wanted to build up from defense.
I also hadn't seen a player face so much criticism and doubt before he actually kicked a ball at a new club. A lot of it was focused on his height and whether he'd be able to play in the Premier League after coming from the Eredivisie. Jamie Carragher was one pundit who seemed to be the head of the council as after United's 4-0 loss to Brentford, he said “Martínez will not work as a centre-back in the Premier League" and "at 5ft 9in, he’s not big enough. He’s not going to be able to cope in aerial battles.”
However, just a few months later, the former Liverpool defender made a bit of a 180 on his original comments saying that “I got it wrong — he’s been far better than I expected” and even went so far as to admit that “he's one of my favourite players to watch now.”
Never judge someone too early.
But then towards the end of that 22/23 campaign, disaster and what would turn out to be the beginning of problems that were even greater than this criticism.
In United's 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League quarter final at Old Trafford, Martinez went down clutching his foot. There was no one around him. That is usually a sign that the injury is serious.
It turned out that he had a metatarsal fracture which ruled him out for the remainder of that campaign.
He came back at the start of the 23/24 season but picked up another foot injury, this time keeping him out for even longer (106 days compared to 78 days). Another injury where there was no one around him.
Martinez returned in January but a month later, picked up a knee injury in a win over West Ham after their defender Vladimir Coufal fell on top of him. A further month-and-a-half out.
And for a third time that campaign, Martinez was side lined with a calf strain after making a comeback in March.
Last season was much better,
for half of it.
At the start of February, the worst injury of them all.
In the 2-0 defeat at home to Palace, United suffered an even greater loss as The Butcher tore his ACL ruling him out for the rest of the season and a decent chunk of next. This latest setback has resulted in him missing 333 days and 42 games for United.
That is a total of 605 days and 99 games missed for club and country in his three years at United.
Guy is giving Luke Shaw a run for his money 👀. Never thought that that would be possible.
While he has recovered well enough to travel with the squad to the US for pre-season, he will still not feature with reports saying that he may only return to the pitch in September.
That maybe sooner than originally thought but there's more to it than just making it onto the field. The psychological blow it must leave on a player to be out so often and for so long will be difficult to overcome; to try to not get injured again even though it will most likely be at the back of his mind; having to get up to speed with the Premier League; getting used to the manager's system (again); and more than anything, actually trying to play regularly in that first team.
There are many factors to consider.
When it comes to the football, there is no real concern that I can see for him as a player. Martinez pretty much fulfills all that is required of a modern centre-back other than his height yet with the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Harry Maguire, they can more than make up for that.
In fact, in that 22/23 season, he and Rapha Varane complimented each other really well with the Frenchman covering for the Argentine's shortness.
Martinez is strong in possession, composed on the ball, reads the game really well, gets into position early due to excellent anticipation and is one of the better passers in the team. His balls through the lines or over the top are probably only bettered by captain Bruno Fernandes.
If you look at the 22/23 season, his ratio of forward passes was 34.9%, the highest out of the other centre-backs (Varane, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire).
On top of it all, as I said with the way he carries himself, the 26 year old is a leader and someone others could look to follow and we know how United lack leaders.
Even with a new system, I don't think he needs to adjust too much. Early on, there seemed to be a jelling in period under Amorim but after a few games, Martinez showed that he was adept at playing in a three at the back.
Due to his composure and quality in possession in particular, I think it makes him the ideal centre-back for this modern age of football. With everyone Pep-ifying things and wanting to build up from defense, you would need players or at least one who was good on the ball. Martinez provides that. For this reason and the others mentioned above, he would HAVE to play.
But will he is the question.
Not only do we have to worry about him taking time to get back into the swing of things on the field nor the thought of an injury relapse, but also competition for places.
United's current centre-back roster includes:
Leny Yoro
Harry Maguire
Matthijs De Ligt
Ayden Heaven
All of these players have shown their worth in that back three. Even Luke Shaw has the potential to play as a centre-back if needed or if he can stay fit.
This is why it's difficult to see where Martinez would slot in. Of course it would be as the left-sided centre-back as he is left-footed but whenever Yoro has played there, he's been superb. Tbh, whereever he's played he's been superb. He HAS to start. Maguire is much more comfortable on the right-wing I mean as central CB 😅 and has a case to start but so does De Ligt who for me, was ort best CB last season. He was more reliable than Yoro and is better than Maguire. Heaven is still young so I doubt he'll be ahead of Martinez.
There is also mr versatile Noussair Mazraoui who's played as LCB, RCB, RWB, LWB and even did a job as no 10 for ten Hag against Fenerbahce in the Europa League. The Moroccan has also performed unbelievably well in all those positions. You could argue he has to play too.
Trying to fit Martinez into the team is going to be really difficult. He's too good to be a bench player and with there being less football, there will be no need to rotate as much. Unless others get injured, I find it hard to see how he gets into the team when everyone's fit even if he is perfect for what the manager wants. He will definitely improve us and we do see how we miss a player of his quality at the back.
Ideally, I would like it to be Yoro RCB, De Ligt in the middle and Martinez on the left. But then what do you do with Mazraoui? We have other full-backs that play down the flanks and with the additions of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo and people wanting Amad to start too, how will Amorim fit all of these players into the team?
Someone will have to be left out. Someone BIG. Maybe Martinez.
This is why I say that this is a make or break season for him. Not only does he have to stay fit, he needs to get up to the speed of the game quickly, try to not get injured again and find a way to be a regular in Ruben Amorim's lineup.
I do believe that this is the last throw of the dice for The Butcher. His fourth season at the club might well be his last.
Do you think this is make or break for Martínez? Drop your thoughts below ⤵.
Lisandro Martinez has a big fourth season ahead at Man Utd | Lisandro Martinez: Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images via Caught Offside