Man United are advancing in their fight to sign Erik ten Hag’s top defensive target, Lisandro Martinez, with Ajax, finally ready to sell them for £ 46 million … and a deal for the central 5 feet and 9 inches could be completed as soon as THURSDAY.
- Manchester United are closing the £ 46m signing of Lisandro Martinez of Ajax
- Martinez has been a major target for both Manchester United and Arsenal
- But it looks like United and new boss Erik ten Hag will win the race for Martinez
- Over the weekend, United increased their bid to £ 43 million for the 24-year-old
By Simon Jones for the Daily Mail
Posted: 06:31, 13 July 2022 | Updated: 10:04 PM, July 13, 2022
Manchester United are closing out the £ 46 million signing of Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, and the deal is expected to be completed on Thursday.
Talks have been going in the right direction until Wednesday, with Dutch club CEO and former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar assisting in the negotiations.
Ajax had turned down United’s offer of £ 42.5m last week, including add-ons, but are ready to accept a new proposal after lengthy talks on Wednesday and have already identified Lisandro’s potential replacement for Mykola Matvienko of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Argentine international Lisandro made it clear to the Ajax board that he wanted to leave once he realized the interest of Arsenal and then United. He has a strong relationship with United coach Erik ten Hag, and the two have spoken in recent weeks.
Manchester United are closing the £ 46m signing of Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez
A transfer to United will make the Argentine reunite with former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag
Lisandro was Ajax’s player of the year last season as Ten Hag handed out the Dutch league title before his departure. In fact, the 23-year-old defender, whose idol is former United defender Gabriel Heinze, has won three league titles since joining in 2019 from Defense and Justice.
While not the tallest central defender with just 5 feet and 9 inches, Lisandro reads the game well, is good at one-on-one situations and cunning ball passer. One of the favorites of Amsterdam fans, he can play as a center-back, left-back and midfielder where former United defender Jaap Stam believes he could excel.
“What’s important is for a defender to have intelligence,” Stam said. ‘Lisandro Martínez has developed it. In England, there are many fast attackers who are ruthless on the counters. So what’s important is for an advocate to be smart and intelligent.
“But since Martínez is comfortable with the ball, he can also play in front of the defense. And I don’t rule out that Hag must use it there.
United have six senior defenders in their portfolio and expect to sell up to three with Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones and Eric Bailly most likely.
Ten Hag watched as their United scored an impressive 4-0 win over Liverpool this week
Bailly has interest from Napoli, but was impressive against Liverpool in Tuesday’s friendly and has indicated he wants to fight for his place.
The 28-year-old has wanted to leave in recent seasons as he believed he was never given a fair chance, although premature injuries hampered his progress.
United have moved 19-year-old Will Fish to Melbourne for the second leg of the tour to cover the central half, as Tuanzebe has returned home and winger Alex Telles has been forced to play in central defense. against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, United’s efforts to sign Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong continue to drag on despite John Murtough and Richard Arnold meeting with Barça’s management this week.
The Dutch midfielder and his representatives want the £ 17 million, plus the salary owed to him by Barça, who agreed to postpone it due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jadon Sancho (right) was among the top scorers as United started the pre-season strong.
Barcelona had planned to reimburse the money from their contract, which will be extended until 2026, but a transfer would mean full reimbursement now.
United are expected to complete a deal for Christian Eriksen later this week and have held talks with Ajax over Antony, but the £ 68m valuation of the winger is prohibitive.
United continue to insist that Ronaldo is not leaving, but it is still unclear whether he will join the national team on the Australian stage of his tour.