90min football journalist Graeme Bailey believes that Manchester United will prevail in their pursuit of Lisandro Martinez – and admitted that he will be worried if they don’t.
Speaking on the All For United YouTube channel, the transfer correspondent was dissecting the ongoing battle between Arsenal and United to land the versatile Ajax player.
Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag is familiar with the Argentinian, having coached Martinez since his arrival in Amsterdam back in 2019.
The Athletic has recently revealed that the Old Trafford outfit are in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Ajax regarding a potential move, but old foes Arsenal are also in the race.
The Gunners are thought to have made three bids, while it has been claimed that the Amsterdam club had turned down their initial offer of £26m before rejecting a further attempt of £34m – with the Dutch champions thought to be holding out for an offer in the region of £43m.
Despite the formal approaches from the capital, Bailey still believes Martinez will be a United player, though expressed his concerns for the club if they aren’t able to land his signature.
He said: “The belief is that United should get him. The player is open to both clubs, wants to come to England, but obviously, he does have that massive relationship with Ten Hag, so I’d be amazed if Arsenal beat [United] to him, I really would.
“And if they did beat you to him, I’d be very, very worried.”
TIF Thoughts on Martinez and United…
Will Lisandro Martinez end up at Manchester United?
Yes
No
Credited with having the largest amount of ‘venom’ on a football pitch by Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan, the so-called ‘butcher of Amsterdam’ could add much-needed bite to the United lineup, perhaps not seen since the days of Roy Keane.
Indeed, at 5ft 9in, he is by no means the tallest, but the 7-cap Argentina dynamo is no pushover and has been likened to Antonio Rudiger (FBRef) through his underlying statistics.
Last season, he made an average of 2 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game (SofaScore) – performing substantially higher than any current player at Carrington in at centre-back – but now it is up to United to win this duel, and as Bailey pointed out – if they can’t beat Arsenal even with Ten Hag’s affiliation, it may raise further question marks.