Analysing How Lisandro Martinez Could Help Solve Manchester United's Midfield Problem

Day by day, reports continue to indicate that Lisandro Martínez will soon be a Manchester United player, but could he solve the club's midfield issues?

The Ajax centre back - also able to operate in midfield - has emerged as a top target for the club in recent weeks, and it looks as though the club will bid for him in the coming days.

Martínez was a key player for new boss Erik ten Hag’s Ajax side, and the Dutchman is keen to bring his former player to his new home as he looks to bolster Manchester United’s squad. The player has also been linked to Arsenal, but seemingly favours a move to Old Trafford. 

Here, UtdDistrict look to profile Martínez as a player and with United’s midfield looking to be in greater need of strengthening than centre back, we analyse 3 midfield structures that the Argentine could fit into.

Player Profile

Lisandro Martínez is a 24 year old centre back, also capable of operating in midfield comfortably and even at left back if needed. Standing at 1.77 metres, he is not the tallest or most physically imposing of players - which is a concern playing as a centre half in England - but makes up for this with good positional intelligence and intensity. His dominant foot is his left.

Whether playing as a centre back or in midfield, the 24 year old is a very forward-thinking player when the ball is at his feet.

His passing range is excellent, with his ability to break lines a notable trait that stands out, and he resists pressure well due to his ability to turn quickly when receiving the ball. Sometimes, the Argentine is too eager to try and accelerate play and can lose the ball this way, and he can also struggle when receiving laterally, but overall is a huge net positive on the ball.

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Off the ball, Martínez’s movement and positioning in build-up is clever.

He shows for the ball frequently and aggressively, and when he isn’t readily available he will either move to make himself available or he will make a dummy movement to drag an opponent out of position and open up a passing lane for a teammate. He is a very active player in this regard. 

Defensively, whilst physically disadvantaged, he offers intensity and intelligence. Just like in possession, he can be overeager out of possession when going into challenges and could exercise patience better. Aerially, he is not the strongest due to his size and could get targeted when facing an aerially dominant side.

On the ground though, he is a very good tackler with excellent reading of play and can handle 1v1 situations against dribblers quite well. 

Midfield Structure #1: Double pivot with Fred/Garner/McTominay

With Frenkie de Jong preferring to play on the left hand side and Martínez’s left foot being his predominant foot, it is possible that his midfield minutes for the side could come with one of United’s other central midfielders, who are either natural right footers or in Fred’s case, comfortable playing on both sides.

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The Argentine would likely be responsible for a lot of the midfield progression here, and positionally would have be the more conservative of the pairing, with the three other players mentioned at their best when allowed to push forward a little more.

Midfield Structure 2: Lone #6 with De Jong and Fernandes/Van de Beek/Eriksen ahead

Another midfield structure we could see on a regular basis would come in a 4-3-3 formation, with Martínez sitting as the lone number six. Working under the assumption that the Frenkie de Jong and Christian Eriksen deals go ahead, the former would be the number eight that drops deeper to help the Argentine out in the earlier possession phases whilst one of the latter, Bruno Fernandes, Eriksen or Donny van de Beek could operate a little higher up. 

All three have experience of playing as number eights in a 4-3-3 formation, albeit in slightly different roles. Eriksen would probably be best suited to complete the trio here.

Midfield Structure #3: Frenkie #6 with Lisandro and Fred either side of him

You’re probably thinking ‘has this guy lost his mind’, but hear me out. We went full Carlo Ancelotti in this final proposal of a midfield structure, with de Jong sitting as the #6, Lisandro as an eight to the left of him and Fred to the right. Could even chuck Bruno Fernandes or Donny van de Beek as a 10 to make a diamond which would complete the tribute act to the great AC Milan side of the 2000s.

OK, nostalgia jokes aside, letting De Jong play as the deepest midfielder who primarily controls United’s central possession with two more defensive-minded, combative midfielders ahead of him could be something to look at in particular games where United need something different in their setup.

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Fred and Martínez are both very hard workers and far from slouches in possession, and playing them higher up to maximise their intensity and afford the Dutchman some more time and space on the ball could give United a level of midfield control not seen in many years at the Theatre of Dreams.