Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has publicly backed Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez by slamming ongoing criticism about the Argentine’s height. Martinez has enjoyed a sensational start to life in the Premier League but remains the subject of doubts over his physicality as a centre-back in the English top flight.
Van Dijk was speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet, when he described some of the criticism as ‘rubbish’. The Liverpool general heaped praise on Martinez, pinpointing his ball-playing ability and passion as positive traits.
He said: “People talking about Lisandro Martinez and his height are talking absolute rubbish. It can help as a centre-back if you’re a bit taller, but what he’s done since coming to the Premier League has been good. He’s a good signing for Manchester United, he’s good on the ball, he’s very passionate, so I can only speak positively about him.
“I have respect for what he’s achieved so far, and I hope he does well at United, but that he doesn’t get successful there with winning trophies! In England, everyone loves criticising players about everything, but that’s fine because you can’t change it. Lisandro has shown many good performances already, and he shouldn’t think about the outside noise around him.”
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United manager Erik ten Hag overrode the club’s scouting network’s recommendation of Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres in the summer as he started his rebuild at Old Trafford. And his decision to splash £57million to reunite with Martinez after their joint success at Ajax garnered questions after a rocky first couple of games.
The 24-year-old, standing at 5ft 9, looked uncomfortable in the opening-day defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion before being hauled off at half-time after being targeted on set-pieces in United’s 4-0 mauling at Brentford. But after that fateful day in west London, the Red Devils’ fortunes have reversed, and so have Martinez’s.
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He has earned mass plaudits for his progressive passing, reading of the game and tenacity while showcasing a meteoric leap that makes it a level playing field in aerial duels. Martinez has helped United not concede an open-play goal in six consecutive games, forming a formidable partnership with Raphael Varane.
However, there are still critics over his suitability for Premier League football due to his size being abnormal for the competition’s traditional centre-halves. If Van Dijk, widely considered Europe’s best defender, rates him highly, though, it’s safe to say he must be doing something right.
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