Lisandro Martinez. The Butcher.
This is the player that is on the radar of Barcelona.
And you know what, it makes perfect sense, for more than one reason.
Firstly, here's the report from Caught Offside: Barcelona put Martinez on the transfer target list Barcelona believe Lisandro Martinez would be open to a move to the Camp Nou this summer.
The club feels Manchester United might be willing to sell as the defender approaches the final year of his contract [Barca Report].
I know it isn't coming from the most reliable of sources which is the positive.
But away from that, I would say that the fact that it's coming out at all, is a call for concern!
Why do Barca believe they can take Martinez? A player like that should be on lockdown at United. He is exactly what we need at our club: utter professional. Carries himself well. Admired in the dressing room. Loved by the fan base. And knows how to play ball.
Plus, his nickname - the butcher - that's one awesome nickname 👌.
For him to tick all of those boxes and be on the radar of another club is criminal. If we want to be taken seriously as a big club, we keep such players and we give no inkling that they are for sale, or hell, even remotely for sale.
Why I said that this makes sense is because as the report entails, the Argentine has just one year left on his current deal. Should United not offer him a new one, then he'll be on the cheap on free in a year.
It also makes sense because at 28-years-old, the butcher could be going into his final big contract and would want guarantees that it isn't going to be a waste. I know that Barca have their own problems yet through it all, they still manage to compete and win titles.
How they play is another factor as I believe Martinez would suit them perfectly.
His calmness and composure in possession, his passing ability, that no holds barred style. I could see it working.
Barcelona is also a lovely city in which they speak Spanish, Martinez's native tongue. Such factors do play a part in players making decisions about their next club.
And when it comes to South Americans, they always seem to want to play for either one of Real Madrid or in this case, Barcelona.
I wouldn't be surprised if we heard him say that 'this is my favourite team in Spain' or we see an old picture of him in a Barca kit. That would be it for me.
In terms of United, there's more chances of Barcelona achieve success in the next few years than us. With our club, we don't know what's going to happen. I fear that those that run the club don't know either.
Martinez is also on £120k-a-week at United which is below the likes of Mazraoui, Shaw, Mount, Sesko, Maguire, De Ligt and Casemiro.
Is the butcher worth less than them?
He deserves a new contract in my opinion.
I mean, we're looking at keeping Maguire which I simply cannot understand.
He's nowhere near as good as Martinez, is four years older and has become injury prone.
I know what you're going to say - Martinez is injury prone as well. To an extent, I agree. But when you look at those injuries - broken foot, knee injury, separate ACL issue, those aren't injuries that were foreseen. Those were kind of innocuous if we're being honest.
Injury prone for me, is what we get with Mount, Shaw (except when it's a World Cup year) and Maguire: small-medium injuries that keep them out for decent periods at a time. Most of the time, it's not serious but they miss a few weeks here and there. Sometimes though, it is serious.
But injuries are the only thing I see, that works against Martinez in terms of keeping him at United.
The good news is that he has never given off the impression that he is unhappy or unsettled in Manchester. He appears to be pretty happy from what I see.
There's also a great bond with the fans and when he isn't there, we truly notice it.
His character is one that I believe is desperately needed in this squad. Martinez has this way that he carries himself which screams leader. He is the type that while he may not have the size, his presence is absolutely noted. He's well-respected in that dressing room and as I said, his footballing ability is second to none.
The butcher is arguably our best centre-back.
If he were to go, then wew'd need to find a proper replacement. Yoro and Heaven are youngsters, Maguire is not the quality I believe we need, De Ligt is solid but let's see how he returns from a long layoff.
This would be on top of having to sign midfielders, full-backs, attackers.
I find it to be unnecessary to let him go.
We cannot afford to lose him. I think it would be a HUGE mistake!
Lisandro Martinez could be on the move this summer with Barcelona a potential destination | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)