‘I love his energy’: Rio Ferdinand praises Lisandro Martinez

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Lisandro Martinez was Manchester United’s man of the match in the weekend win over Southampton.

He was also named in the BBC team of the week for his efforts in helping the Red Devils to secure a crucial 1-0 win.

The defender is becoming a fan favourite already, and it’s only right he is applauded after receiving some ill-informed criticism purely based on his height, some of which still continues.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand told Five that he is impressed with Martinez, adding his voice to the plaudits coming Martinez’s way.

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Rio Ferdinand praises Lisandro Martinez

Ferdinand says he has enjoyed what he has seen from Martinez over the past couple of matches, with Manchester United recording back to back wins.

He said: “Martinez has got the shirt at the moment and doesn’t look like he wants to let that go. I love his energy.

“He reminds me of Gabriel Heinze. He’s on the front foot, he’s aggressive. He’s probably a bit better on the ball. There’s a lot of that tenacity, Argentinean doggedness and ruggedness that he comes with.

“He’s going to be tested, he will have harder games. Che Adams gave him a tough game but he came through it.

“Everyone keeps talking about his height. You can’t get away from the fact he’s small for a centre-half in England but at the moment he’s ticking the boxes and answering the questions.”

Ferdinand also says he likes Martinez’s pairing with Raphael Varane, noting that there is better communication between the pair than it appeared with Harry Maguire.

He said: “This seems like a partnership where their best attributes complement the other one.”

Martinez was a key player for Erik ten Hag at Ajax, and won player of the season at the Dutch club last season. It’s already easy to see why.

There’s a long way to go, but it’s encouraging to see the positive attributes he brings to United’s defence, and hopefully we see a lot more clean sheets this season like the one we saw this past weekend.