Man United players celebrating after scoring in a friendly match against Aston Villa at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia. The draw was part of the teams’ preparations for the new season. — AFP
THERE is a lot of spirit in the voices and social media traffic of Manchester United fans, now that they have secured the services of Lisandro Martinez.
The 24-year-old central defender, who can also slot in at left-back or operate in a defensive midfield role, was Man United’s main target in the off season. And now they’ve got him.
And while it took them a lot longer to capture his signature than many might have expected, given that he played under former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, Man United will consider it well worth the wait.
The Argentine international, also pursued by Arsenal, will bring to Old Trafford a number of aspects of his game that this club have lacked sorely over the last few years.
He might not be the tallest defender in England, at 1.79m, but he does possess a hatful of key components to his game that will no doubt benefit a team that has suffered immensely since Sir Alex Ferguson left just a decade ago.
Among his main traits are his ability to tackle with an assuredness and timing that almost all Manchester United defenders lacked last season, and an authority and preparedness to calmly bring the ball out of defence and distribute it with good vision and an equal measure of accuracy.
Ten Hag will know this, having helped Martinez develop his game in Holland after he arrived there from South America as a 19-year-old.
And if the noises emanating from Old Trafford are even minutely correct, then not only will Martinez benefit from the football acumen of ten Hag, but the squad as a whole.
Manchester United have not won a trophy – of any kind – in five years and will be desperate to change that.
But it won’t be easy. Not with league champions and cross-town rivals Manchester City looking all fired up for the new campaign, and Liverpool determined to clinch a second Premiership crown in four years.
And if these two giants were removed from the equation, the shadows of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, and to some extent, Arsenal, would loom large.
For many, it looks like Tottenham could usurp one or two sides and climb into the top three.
Spurs are in the Champions League, having finished fourth in the last campaign.
And with their off-season signings, Antonio Conte’s Lilywhites look the strongest they have been in many a year.
When Spurs confirmed the arrival of Djed Spence from Middlesbrough in a five-year deal worth up to £20mil (RM108mil), he became their sixth signing of Conte in the off season.
Before him, Spurs signed Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Clement Lenglet, who was later loaned out to Barcelona.
It is much too early to say where Chelsea will be heading – up or down. But they have done big business in the transfer market, highlighted by Antonio Rudiger going to Real Madrid and Raheem Sterling making his way into Stamford Bridge.
If Manchester United were to finish ahead of Tottenham this season, for some it would be a notable achievement.
With Martinez in the squad, it might pan out like that.
