Lisandro Martínez has returned to full training with Manchester United this week and a moment in that session will excite one of his teammates.
Manchester United are hitting a good run of form after a tricky start to the season and they will want to continue that trend against Nottingham Forest this weekend.
The Reds have received a boost away from the pitch as well, with Lisandro Martínez returning to team training after a difficult time away with a serious knee injury.
Ruben Amorim confirmed that the Argentine would not be available against Forest despite wanting to play in the game. After so long on the sidelines, United want to treat his return to the pitch carefully.
Nevertheless, it is great to see the 26-year-old back in training and one of his teammates will certainly be delighted to start working with him.
Martínez moment in training ‘showed the connection’
Martínez’s first full session back with the first-team group was documented on the club’s social media channels, with videos and images being uploaded to the excitement of fans.
Club reporter Adam Marshall also wrote an article on the United website where he described how that session went for Martínez and there was a familiar sight on the training pitch.
Within the piece, he wrote: “There was one nice ball threaded through to Bruno Fernandes which showed the connections and chemistry remains, and plenty of other evidence of his qualities.”
Martínez’s ability on the ball is one thing that United have been missing in that position. While Luke Shaw is extremely comfortable in possession, he cannot find those lofted passes in behind defences like his Argentine teammate.
Just before he suffered his ACL injury, Martínez dinked a perfect ball in behind for Amad to score the winning goal against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Mbeumo will be excited about building partnership with Martínez
Attackers who enjoy making off-the-ball runs love to play with players like Martínez. He is the kind of defender who can see those runs and deliver the perfect pass for them. That’s exactly what happened for Amad’s goal against City.
Now, it is Bryan Mbeumo operating in that right-sided no.10 role, with Amad just behind him at wingback, and the ex-Brentford star has started very well since his Old Trafford move.
Nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month for October, Mbeumo is a goal threat and that is partly because of his constant off-ball runs.
He has spoken about the importance of building connections with Amad and the other attackers at United, but the Cameroonian forward will be excited about the prospect of getting that kind of relationship with Martínez.
Those runs in behind the defence he makes so often could start coming off even more when it is Martínez supplying the balls, and it is a partnership that could develop when both are on the pitch.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.