Former Liverpool center-back and now a pundit, Jamie Carragher seldom has words to praise Manchester United. In a rare occurrence now, Carragher has hailed United’s controversial summer recruitment Lisandro Martinez ahead of the Manchester Derby this weekend. The Red Devils spent a massive £50 million on the acquisition of the 24-year-old center-half at the request of their new boss Erik ten Hag.
However, at just 5ft 9in United’s signing of Martinez became a laughing stock after he was identified as the shortest defender in the Premier League. But the Argentine has laughed back at the faces of those who termed him unfit for the English top flight. Martinez has delivered back-to-back solid performances, helping United to a four game winning streak.
Carragher labels the Manchester United defender “a warrior”
Erik ten Hag endured a tough start to the Premier League campaign with United, losing the first two games against Brighton and Brentford conceding 6 goals in total. Fans and pundits slammed the Dutchman for importing players from the Eredivisie which is worlds apart from the Premier League. But his patience paid off as Lisandro Martinez slowly gained momentum alongside his partner Raphael Varane, who received the flak as well for his initial displays.
The “shortest” center-back has now helped the Red Devils keep 3 clean-sheets in their last 6 games in all competitions and conceded just 3 goals. His rock-solid partnership with Varane has instilled confidence in their ‘keeper David de Gea as well who was under immense criticism for his recent blunders. Carragher, who himself had doubts whether the £50 million Martinez will be able to survive the Premier League has now written in his column for The Telegraph:
“There is a lot to like about Martínez’s first appearances in a United shirt. The fans have taken to him as a cult figure because he is a warrior and natural leader.
“United’s defence has impressed since the calamitous performance against Brentford and Martínez has been central to that. Since he was paired with Varane, they have kept three clean sheets in five games. But, long-term, the reservations I had when first seeing Martínez remain.
“He looks a little too short to play centre-back in the Premier League. We saw when United struggled badly against Brentford – a game where Martínez was subbed at half-time – how difficult it is for him if sides hit long balls into the penalty area to a striker relishing such service like Ivan Toney.”
Lisandro Martinez is back from his international duty with Argentina wherein the reigning Copa America winners defeated Honduras and Jamaica. The center-back played full 90 minutes against Honduras and 12 against Jamaica contributing to the clean-sheets the La Albiceletes managed across both the games. He now returns to club action with United for the derby showdown with Manchester City.