Soccer

Manchester United agree initial €55m fee for Ajax centre back Lisandro Martínez

The Argentinian will be Erik ten Hag’s third signing of the summer, and will involve a five-year deal with an option for a further season

Lisandro Martinez: he is a left-sided centre back who can also operate as a defensive midfielder. Photograph: John Walton/PA Wire
Lisandro Martinez: he is a left-sided centre back who can also operate as a defensive midfielder. Photograph: John Walton/PA Wire
Jamie Jackson in Melbourne
Sun Jul 17 2022 - 18:47

Manchester United and Ajax have reached an agreement for the transfer of Lisandro Martínez, with the transfer worth €55 million plus €10 million in potential add-ons expected to be sealed in the coming days.

The 24-year-old centre back flew into Manchester on Friday, and the Argentinian will be Erik ten Hag’s third signing of the summer subject to his medical being passed, his visa being agreed and contract finalised. He will sign a five-year deal with an option for a further season.

Martínez, who would follow Feyenoord’s Tyrell Malacia and free agent Christian Eriksen to United, is a left-sided centre back who can also operate as a defensive midfielder. The agreement was announced because of Ajax’s requirement to inform the Amsterdam Stock Exchange of material transactions.

Diogo Dalot, meanwhile, has become the latest player to offer insight into the club’s new manager during United’s two-week summer tour of Thailand and Australia. “I really like the dynamic that he shows, not just in training but in general,” said the full-back. “He is very demanding, pays a lot of attention to detail, which is good – small details can make a difference in the long term.

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“We always train not just [regarding] what we need to do with the ball but also without the ball. I think we can obviously improve and be good at it.”

Of his own role, Dalot said: “He likes offensive full-backs, he likes proactive full-backs, so we have to always think a little bit ahead of what the game is asking. We need to be connected, everybody co-operating with each other, with the winger in front of you, with the midfielder alongside you.

“So he always asks for co-operation between us but one good thing about it is that he always wants us to make sure that we need to know what to do in each position. Because sometimes we can swap positions inside the pitch and we need to know how to do it.” – Guardian