Incoming new signing Lisandro Martinez is not expected to join Manchester United’s pre-season tour, report The Telegraph.
A deal for the Ajax centre-back is almost complete, with Fabrizio Romano reporting the £46m transfer is ‘fully agreed’.
It had been expected Martinez could join United for the second half of the club’s pre-season tour, but this now appears to be unlikely.
United have played two matches of four on tour, with upcoming games on Tuesday against Crystal Palace and then Saturday against Aston Villa.
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Martinez unlikely to fly out
The Telegraph report: “Martinez is not expected to join United’s pre-season tour in Australia because there will be little value in him travelling to the other side of the world for what would be the final days of the trip.”
This also applies to Cristiano Ronaldo now, the report states, with the player still in Portugal amid uncertainty over his future, with his options officially cited as being for family reasons.
Martinez still has to fly to England for a medical, and he will likely stay and get settled in Manchester before joining up with his teammates.
He would make his debut either against Atletico Madrid in the friendly in Oslo on July 30, or at Old Trafford against Rayo Vallecano on July 31, dependent on how United divide up the squad.
The season then begins a week later with United hosting Brighton on Sunday August 7, by which time a resolution will hopefully be found over Ronaldo’s future.
The Telegraph adds United remain happy to play the long game over Frenkie de Jong, and are prepared to dig in to sign him even if it means only securing his services after the season starts.
So we should brace ourselves for this deal to potentially drag on for a few more weeks yet.
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