Man United may have made Lisandro Martinez blunder after manager’s reveal – pundit
Noel Whelan has suggested Man United may have made a mistake with the signing of centre-back Lisandro Martinez after he was targeted by opposition yet again.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the 24-year-old is going to “get absolutely battered by centre-forwards” in England.
Martinez was hooked by Erik ten Hag at half-time as Man United slumped to a crushing 4-0 away defeat at Brentford on Saturday (13 August).
As quoted by Sky Sports post-match, Bees boss Thomas Frank admitted he set his side up to target the 5ft 9in centre-back after seeing Brighton employ a similar tactic in the season opener.
The former Ajax star, who worked under Erik ten Hag in Amsterdam, cost Man United a reported £56.7million and signed a five-year deal at the club.
Whelan claimed Martinez is not an intimidating presence and insisted he would have “loved” to play against him.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “When I played against Man United, I played against Pallister, Bruce, Stam.
“I look at Martinez – and I just think he’s going to get absolutely battered by centre-forwards.
“Right now, I don’t see any aggression from him. I don’t see him challenging certain centre-forwards.
“I’m not sure about this one. I know Ten Hag was desperate to bring him in, but I want to see someone with a presence.
“I would love to play against him – and I’m sure most centre-forwards would.
“That’s not someone who is going to intimidate you when you walk out onto the pitch – that’s someone you’re thinking: ‘Let me get on him all game.’”
In other news, pundit slams Marcus Rashford and teammate as “eight” Man United exits mooted.