Manchester United’s Lisandro Martínez has been subject to heavy interest from Europe, and he appears interested in a move away.
Lisandro Martínez’s Manchester United career hasn’t been smooth sailing, with two awful losses in his first two games and countless days out injured more recently, but he has become a key player since Michael Carrick replaced Darren Fletcher.
Alongside Harry Maguire, Martínez shut down Erling Haaland in the Manchester derby, not to mention Antoine Semenyo. His own goal against Arsenal was disappointing, but he continued to impress many with his in-possession qualities. The Argentine continually finds passes in between the lines to quickly turn defence into attack.
Ayden Heaven was dropped against Brighton in the FA Cup, having formed a good partnership with Martínez himself. This created question marks about the former Arsenal defender’s playing time for the rest of the campaign, with Matthijs de Ligt still to come back from injury, and Leny Yoro also pushing for a more regular role.
Some thought Heaven would leave on loan for the rest of the campaign, but he may choose to be patient if Martínez looks set for the exit door in the summer. The former Ajax defender has been described as an “ideal candidate” to join a European giant.
Martínez set for United reunion
Martínez’s playstyle, as a ball-playing defender, doesn’t always suit the Premier League, due to its quick, transitional style. However, it would suit a slower league like Italy or Spain, as some of those clubs appear to have realised.
As reported by Fichajes, Martínez is of heavy interest to Marcus Rashford’s Barcelona. Rashford is only on loan in Catalonia, but has been strongly linked with a permanent return in the summer transfer window – Martínez could be joining him.
Fichajes have indicated that Martínez “would welcome a change of scenery”, despite impressing in Manchester this season.
Hansi Flick’s side believes that just £26 million will prize Martínez away from Old Trafford in the summer, with a January transfer appearing highly unlikely for both parties.
Are any January transfers likely?
In the pre-match press conference for the Fulham game, Carrick was asked about the potential of transfers before the end of the window. He said: “We are just working through it. Never say never because a lot can happen and situations can be thrown up.
“Sometimes it is in our control, sometimes not. I am pretty calm and we have shown what we are capable of as a team.”
Tyrell Malacia seems like the most likely to leave the club, as a transfer is described as “likely to happen”, although United only have until February 2 to complete deals. Some transfer windows remain open past the date, with Turkey open until February 6.
Any other action for the Red Devils is likely to come by the way of loan deals, mostly for under-21 stars looking to make the step up to senior football.
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