Posted: 22:27, July 13, 2022 | Updated: 22:56, July 13, 2022
Manchester United are closing in on the £46m signing of Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, with the deal expected to be completed on Thursday. Talks are moving in the right direction as of Wednesday, with the Dutch club’s CEO and former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar helping negotiations. Ajax rejected United’s £42.5m bid from last week, including add-ons, but are willing to accept a fresh offer after lengthy talks on Wednesday and have already identified Lisandro’s potential replacement in Mykola Matvienko from Shakhtar Donetsk. Argentina international Lisandro made it clear to the Ajax board that he wished to leave once he became aware of interest from Arsenal and then United. He has a strong relationship with United manager Erik ten Hag and the two have spoken in recent weeks. Manchester United are closing in on the £46m signing of Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez. A move to United would see the Argentine reunited with former Ajax boss Erik ten Haag Lisandro was Ajax’s player of the year last season as Ten Haag delivered the Dutch league title before his departure. Indeed, the 23-year-old defender, whose idol is former United defender Gabriel Heinze, has won three league titles since joining in 2019 from Defensa y Justicia. Although not the tallest centre-back at just 5ft 9in, Lisandro reads the game well, is good in one-on-one situations and a clever passer of the ball. A fan favorite in Amsterdam, he can play at centre-back, left-back and hold midfield, where former United defender Jaap Stam believes he could excel. “What’s important is that a defenseman has intelligence,” Stam said. “Lisandro Martinez has developed this. In England, there are a lot of fast strikers who are ruthless on the counter. So what is important is that a defender is intelligent and smart. But because Martinez is comfortable on the ball, he can also play in front of the defense. And I don’t rule out him using ten Hags there.” United have six senior defenders on their books and hope to sell up to three with Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones and Eric Bailly the most likely. Ten Hag saw United seal an impressive 4-0 win against Liverpool this week Bailly has interest from Napoli but was impressive against Liverpool in Tuesday’s friendly and has said he wants to fight for his place. The 28-year-old has been keen to leave in recent seasons as he believed he was never given a fair chance, although early injuries have hampered his progress. United brought 19-year-old Will Fish to Melbourne for the second leg of the tour to provide cover at centre-half as Tuanzebe returned home and full-back Alex Telles was forced into central defense against Liverpool. Meanwhile, United’s efforts to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona continue to be delayed despite John Murtaugh and Richard Arnold meeting with Barca officials this week. The Dutch midfielder and his representatives want the £17m-plus he is owed in wages from Barca, which he has agreed to defer due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jadon Sancho (right) was among the scorers as United made a strong start to pre-season Barcelona had planned to repay the money on his contract, which runs until 2026, but a transfer would mean a full repayment now. United hope to complete a deal for Christian Eriksen by the end of this week and have held talks with Ajax over Anthoni, but the winger’s £68million valuation is prohibitive. United continue to insist Ronaldo will not leave, but it is still unclear whether he will join the squad for the Australian leg of their tour.
