Lisandro Martinez And Christian Eriksen To Give Manchester United A Further Boost

With the official arrivals of Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen arriving this week, Manchester United fans were given a boost with just over a week to go before the new PremierPINC
League season gets underway.

As things currently stand, Manchester United will need to go back into the transfer market and sign at least two more players – one in midfield and another in attack – but the two latest signings have given the club some respite from fans.

Martinez, who arrives from Erik Ten Hag’s former club AFC Ajax, for a fee of £47 million plus £8 million in further add-ons, looks to be Manchester United’s new left-sided centre half.

It was evident through pre-season that Harry Maguire, the club’s captain, has swapped back over to the right, where he feels more comfortable, with Victor Lindelof covering the left.

The England international had a torrid season last time out and will want to forget all about it going into a crucial campagin for both club and country. The move across to the right will be better for him long term and also paves the way for Martinez to be the out-and-out left central defender.

Martinez, who has been capped seven times by his country Argentina, rose prominently through the European ranks since arriving to the Netherlands in 2019. The ball-playing defender has made a name for himself with some of the best passing statistics throughout all top flight leagues and also being able to hold more than his own aerially, which would surprise some given he is 1.75m tall.

Somehow, beyond belief, the Red Devils ended their Premier League campaign last year with a zero goal difference. For a club of its stature, fans had every right to be appalled with the football that they saw on a weekly basis.

With the arrival of Martinez and competition for places in Man United’s back line, Ten Hag will be demanding a much better defensive record when the season begins. While not preferred, should injuries occur, Martinez can also fill in more than competently at left back and in defensive midfield – with the latter being a position where numbers are paper thin.

Ahead of Martinez will see newly-signed Eriksen, who signed as a free transfer on a three-year contract. After his return to the Premier League in January of this year with Brentford, the Denmark international reminded the world of his football intellect and how appealing he is as a player.

Manchester United were interested in Eriksen when the Dane decided to leave the Premier League for the first time, in the January window of 2020. Tottenham Hotspur’s chairman, Daniel Levy, was not at all interested in negotiating with the Red Devils and ultimately agreed a deal with Serie A giants Inter Milan.

Just like his fellow signing, Eriksen knows and appreciates the ‘Ajax way’ and what Ten Hag will look to impose and accomplish as manager of Manchester United. It is essential for those players who have had experience of this possession-based system the Dutch manager coaches to infect the other squad members with it as soon as possible.

It is an incredibly smart signing from Man United’s point of view given Eriksen’s excellence in the Premier League and previous knowledge of Ajax’s systems. On a free transfer, there will be few better conducted this summer.

Manchester United fans so desperately want to see Frenkie de Jong arrive from FC Barcelona, but time is ticking and the club kick their season in under two weeks’ time. It is of utmost importance they do not leave it too late to bring in adequate additions before the September 1 deadline.