Manchester United’s transfer for Lisandro Martinez is ‘imminent’ reports Fabrizio Romano with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reporting talks are advancing.
United reportedly plan to wrap up a deal shortly, making him the club’s most expensive signing of the summer to date.
The 24-year-old will compete with Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof for a centre-back spot in the United side. Lisandro Martinez’s big advantage is playing under Erik ten Hag before, who signed him for Ajax, and the manager clearly wants a player he can rely on.
With a move for the defender close, we take a look at five potential squad number for the incoming addition…
READ MORE: Confirmed Manchester United transfers, ins, outs, loans, releases for 2022/23
Five potential squad numbers for Lisandro Martinez
United have a number of available squad numbers which Lisandro Martinez could take…
6 – Now vacated by Paul Pogba, the shirt was previously worn by centre-backs Jonny Evans and Wes Brown, and before that, Laurent Blanc, Jaap Stam and Gary Pallister – even Rio Ferdinand for a season before he took 5.
14 – Jesse Lingard has just freed up the number 14 shirt, worn before him by Javier Hernandez.
15 – The number 15 has just been made available by Andreas Pereira’s sale. The shirt was previously worn by one of the best centre-backs ever to wear the Manchester United shirt, Nemanja Vidic.
18 – With Bruno Fernandes recently shifting to 8, the number 18 is available. The shirt was formerly worn by Paul Scholes.
21 – Lisandro Martinez’s squad number at Ajax is 21 and it is available since Dan James left. However, the shirt number is also Frenkie de Jong’s number at Barcelona, and he may want it if he signs.
Also consider… More numbers may be freed up by further departures. One possible could be the number 4 shirt, currently occupied by Phil Jones. This was the number worn by Martinez’s idol Gabriel Heinze.
At a guess, we would say Martinez gets either 6 or 21, dependent on which United have lined up for De Jong.
But don’t rule out the possibility he takes the 15 once made so memorable by Vidic, a true legend who Martinez will hope to emulate.
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