Rio Ferdinand: Lisandro Martinez is best centre-back in Premier League
Former Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Lisandro Martinez is currently the leading central defender in the Premier League. Martinez has been a vital player for the Red Devils since his arrival from Ajax over the summer, making 30 appearances for the club, scoring once in the process.
The 25-year-old’s height (5ft 7in) had been picked out as a possible problem for him when it comes to competing in England’s top flight.
However, Ferdinand has said that Man United boss Erik ten Hag never allows the Argentina international to be isolated, which has allowed him to thrive in the Premier League.
“On form right now, I don’t think there’s really much argument coming from anywhere else,” Ferdinand said on his VIBE with FIVE podcast.
“I think he’s dominant, he’s aggressive, he’s a leader, he communicates well, he shows character, he’s there in big moments.
“But I was one of the ones questioning, ‘Is he physically gonna be able to compete here if teams isolate him, if teams isolate him?’
“And that’s where Erik ten Hag has been confident in tactically being able to keep teams away from being able to dominate enough possession to isolate someone like Martinez.
“And, up till now, he hasn’t been exposed in that sense. On a regular basis, week after week, are we not sitting there going, ‘That’s a recurring problem, there. It continues to happen, someone’s pulling out on him and jumping over him or bullying him physically.’
“We haven’t seen that, that hasn’t become the narrative, and you have to say well done to him but also well done to the recruitment up to now.”
Martinez helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup, with the centre-back playing four times at the competition, but he was an unused substitute against France in the final.
The South American has formed an impressive partnership with Raphael Varane in the middle of the Man United defence, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof losing their starting roles.
Martinez penned a five-year deal with the Red Devils upon his arrival last July, rejecting interest from Arsenal in order to reunite with his former Ajax head coach Ten Hag in Manchester.
