Man Utd have agreed a deal for Ajax's Lisandro Martinez; Argentina international, who can play at centre-back, left-back and in central midfield was also wanted by Arsenal, and has excelled since his arrival in Holland in 2019.
Man United have agreed a deal to sign Ajax midfielder Lisandro Martinez; the Argentina international, who can play at centre-back, left-back, and central midfield, was also wanted by Arsenal and has excelled since his arrival in Holland in 2019.
"At first, I felt like going home and crying," Lisandro Martinez said. It was August 2020, and the young Argentine was reflecting on his first year at Ajax in an interview with La Nacion.
"The first few weeks were hell," Martinez continued. He described the training sessions as "completely different" from what he was used to in Argentina. "Different intensity, different control, different passes, different game reading."
Martinez, who was new to Europe and only 21 years old at the time, struggled to keep up. "I'm a player who likes to have the ball, but they killed me with one or two quick touches," he explained. "It was incredible how slow I was."
It was also incredible how quickly he overcame those early difficulties.
Martinez quickly settled in with his new teammates - "I began to feel good after pre-season," he said - and set about fulfilling the significant potential Ajax saw in him as a combative and technically gifted centre-back with Defensa y Justicia in Argentina.
Within a few months, a player nearly brought to tears by the step up in quality at Ajax had earned the nickname 'the butcher' from the club's supporters. He was already a key figure for Erik ten Hag, aggressive in defense but measured in possession.
Martinez is on the verge of reuniting with his former manager, with Manchester United outbidding Arsenal for his services. The Premier League is calling.
Studying and adaptability Kimmich Martinez joined Ajax for €7 million from Defensa y Justicia in the same summer that Matthijs de Ligt left for Juventus.
"At the beginning, I felt like going home and crying," said Lisandro Martinez. It was August 2020 and, in an interview with La Nacion, the young Argentine was recalling his arrival at Ajax a year earlier.
"The first few weeks were horrible," Martinez added. Training sessions, he said, were "completely different" from what he was accustomed to in Argentina. "Different intensity. Different control. Different passes. Different reading of the game."
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