"He’s a warrior" - Ten Hag tells Manchester United fans what they can expect from Lisandro Martinez
Erik ten Hag recently shared with Manchester United fans what to expect from new signing Lisandro Martinez, claiming that the defender has a "fighting spirit."
The Red Devils announced over the weekend that they had agreed a deal to sign the 24-year-old defender from Ajax. The Eredivise champions confirmed that the deal is worth an inital €57 million, with a further €10 million in potential add-ons.
🤝 #MUFC
Official and now confirmed! Lisandro Martínez joins Manchester United on permanent deal from Ajax, contract until June 2027 with an option for further season. 🔴🇦🇷🤝 #MUFC
Official fee is £55m (€57m including solidarity payments) plus €10m add-ons. https://t.co/0D9lb41KWa
Martinez was named Ajax's Player of the Season last term, playing under Ten Hag. He played 36 matches in all competitions last season, contributing one goal and four assists.
The Dutch manager revealed that he is excited to work with the defender again, who is also capable of playing defensive midfield.
He told Manchester United's official website:
“He’s a warrior and I think the fans will admire him. He has an attitude, fighting spirit. He brings aggressiveness in the game, in a good way. I think we need that. But also, he’s also skilful and he can deal with the ball and he’s left-footed.”
Ten Hag also commented on Martinez's excellent character, as the Manchester United chief stated:
“I think it’s important, yeah. I think the Premier League is high intensity, lots of challenges. We need such players [with fighting spirit]. Certain ideas, he knows them. That is an advantage, clearly. But also he has to adapt, to a new country, a new club, new team-mates. So also a lot of things will be different.”
𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Lisandro Martinez has been announced a Manchester United player. ❤️
#LisandroMartinez #ManchesterUnited https://t.co/qiDLpw0VBe
Erik ten Hag confirms new signings won't join Manchester United on tour of Australia
Martinez becomes the third new signing of the Ten Hag era. He followed young Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia, as well as former Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan playmaker Christian Eriksen.
United are currently on tour Down Under for their pre-season and are coming off the back of a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory. They face Crystal Palace next before concluding their Australian tour with a clash against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa.
When Ten Hag was asked by the club's website if Eriksen and Martinez would be joining up with Manchester United, the 52-year-old manager stated:
“Unfortunately we cannot have them here in the tour, because at the moment they arrive here we will fly back. So that doesn’t make sense. We cannot wait to involve them in our squad and the fans also cannot wait."
He added:
“Every year it’s the same as a trainer: you want your squad complete as soon as possible. But also fans look forward to new players and what is the squad and what they can contribute and they want an identification.”
Lisandro Martinez at Ajax ranked in the Top 1% of CB in Europe for (per 90):
Passes (87)
Progressive passes (7.88)
Tackles (3.13)
Shot-Creating actions (1.38)
Through balls (0.25)
Assists (0.13)
One of the best Ball-Playing CBs in the Champions League. #MUFC https://t.co/nmKhQHiERV