Dimitar Berbatov has sung the praises of three of Erik ten Hag‘s Manchester United signings, but the Bulgarian has a piece of advice for Antony.
The former Red Devil striker compared Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez to his former teammate Nemanja Vidic.
While United’s number six isn’t anywhere near as physically imposing as our former towering Serbian, the 24-year-old has displayed the same battling and warrior traits that saw our former number 15 endear himself to the Old Trafford faithful.
Like Vidic, Martinez is dominating opposition strikers and putting his body on the line for the club.
Like Berbatov sand Vidic, the former Ajax man is rapidly becoming a cult hero at the Theatre of Dreams and with Alejandro Garnacho seemingly destined for stardom – the chants of ‘Argentina’ are becoming more and more frequent.
It’s Martinez’s never say die attitude and aggression which have seen him draw comparisons with Vidic, according to Berbatov.
In an interview with the club’s website, Berbatov said: “Lisandro Martinez, I think he has no fear.
“He is going into challenges and just in a way, a small way, he reminds me of Vida [Nemanja Vidic] because he is putting himself out there with the body and trying to fight for the team.”
Dimitar Berbatov raves about Manchester United signings
Berbatov, who won two Premier League titles with the Reds, has also been impressed with fellow summer recruits Christian Eriksen and Casemiro.
The 41-year-old believes that a lot of Casemiro’s work goes unnoticed in a similar manner to another of his former teammates Darren Fletcher.
Berbatov added: “Casemiro was a rock at Real Madrid. I mean he was someone who is doing the dirty work. Someone who does not necessarily take the applause. Or does not get the headlines.
“But you need players like that. [Darren] Fletcher was like that. He is running up and down the pitch and doing the dirty work. You need basically to have players like this and Casemiro is exactly that type of player that can give you that confidence in front of the defence and give a breath of fresh air sometimes.
“And you know if he is there, he will help. And he’s selfless as well; he’s that guy who can do that on the pitch. I am happy to hear that, in the dressing room, he is also the guy who has been integrated quickly into the team and that helps as well. That’s good to hear, it’s great for everybody.”
While Berbatov believes that Casemiro’s fellow Brazilian Antony has had a good start to life with United – he wants United’s number 21 to make better decisions with the ball.
“Antony is also having, let’s say, a good season. He can do better, [and] I will allow myself maybe to give a bit of advice: just be more efficient with the ball,” Berbatov said.
“Just run, do your thing, be respectful and beat the opposition and have an end product to what you are doing. This is important for the team.”
United’s bargain signing of the summer Eriksen is another recruit that has caught Berbatov’s eye, and the Bulgarian put the Danish maestro in a bracket alongside some of the game’s greatest ever midfielders.
Berba added: “Eriksen has a great mind and he knows where to pass the ball – something that I always love.
“Players like Eriksen, players like [Kevin] De Bruyne. Players like Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, like [Zinedine] Zidane. This type of player, they are two or three steps ahead of the game.
“Is football intelligence coachable? That’s a great question and honestly I hesitate how to answer that, because probably you can teach it, but in a small way. But the really good ones? They’re just naturally gifted with that thing.“
All four of United’s summer signings that Berbatov has impressed with will represent the twenty-time league champions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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