The cultivated Ajax defender has been the subject of a £43million bid from Manchester United, but while he is renowned for his ability on the ball and reading of the game, questions have been raised about his height, as expected. At five feet nine inches (or 175cm), Martinez will be the shortest centre-back in the English top flight next season if he follows his former manager, Erik ten Hag, from the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Amsterdam to Old Trafford . And he will be up against some of the greatest strikers in world football. Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez is a £43m target for Manchester United despite his short stature Erik ten Hag knows Martinez well after working with him for the past three seasons at Ajax Above the diminutive Argentine will be Bournemouth’s Welsh giant Kiefer Moore and Norwegian newcomer Beast from the East Erling Haaland at Manchester City, who are both six feet tall – so eight inches taller than Martinez. In fact, unfortunately for the Ajax stopper, a trend towards smaller strikers is set to reverse in the coming campaign and the Big Number Nine is back in fashion in the Premier League. There could be as many as eight oversized centre-forwards lining up against him next season who extend the measuring stick to six-foot-three or more, including Chris Wood at Newcastle. Meanwhile, the likes of Darwin Nunez, who has joined Liverpool from Benfica, is almost as short at six-foot-two. At five-foot-nine, the defender will be up against the likes of Erling Haaland, who is eight inches taller Bournemouth’s Kieffer Moore is also six foot and the Welshman will be a handful In any case, six to eight inches (or 15 to 20cm) is a lot to concede to an opponent and former United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand fears it may be too much. “You have to be physically ready to play against these big strikers,” Ferdinand told his Five YouTube channel. ‘[Darwin] Nunez and [Erling] Haaland just moved to the big clubs of Liverpool and Manchester City. Is it over six feet? he should deal with such people on a regular basis. “Chris Wood at Newcastle, those are big, big guys, you can go through the league and find players like that. He will be able to deal with people like that because physically, he is on the smaller side for a central midfielder.’ Ferdinand respects. Lisandro is young in this position in England. Perfect. Among the Premier League’s great strikers is Newcastle’s Chris Wood Martinez is confident in his ability to handle forwards and is one of the best defenders in the Netherlands Last week Chelsea’s long-serving defender and captain Cesar Azpilicueta, 32, was one of the shortest central defenders. He completed 12 occasions for the Blues in the top flight but is still more than an inch (3cm) taller than Martinez, which is important if one of your key performance indicators is winning aerial duels. Nathan Ake, 27, did a decent job for Manchester City when he played at centre-back in nine of his 14 Premier League appearances last season, but he has a two-inch height advantage. So why does ten Hag want Martinez so badly that they are willing to risk the player’s height? Ten Haag (c) used Martinez (left) in midfield in the 2019-20 season, before moving him back into defense It’s just that the Dutchman wants possession and Martinez is excellent in that part of the game, but he also trusts him to adapt to the challenge of the defence. Ten Haag is well aware of Martinez’s tactical strengths. Ajax played him at the heart of their midfield during the 2019-20 season, where the Argentine easily pulled the strings of one of Europe’s most complete, technical teams. “We were looking for a brain for central midfield,” said Ten Haag. “We knew Martinez had played in central midfield, but could he do it in Ajax’s system? We tested him there and saw good things.’ Martinez easily compares to Javier Mascherano, who is five foot nine but a centimeter shorter. Mascherano was converted from a defensive midfielder to a defender by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. Guardiola wanted Barca to control the game from back to front and to do that he needed a central defender who excelled on the ball while also being able to dominate the opposition. The move was a huge success, although the player himself was not always entirely enthusiastic, Mascherano did claim five LaLiga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups under Pep. Like Mascherano, Martinez is a playable defender, and what he lacks in height he must make up for in mind, aggression and quality. And as was the case with his compatriot, Martinez has shown that he can run games not only from midfield, but also from the middle of the back line. Martinez is similar to Javier Mascherano, who has played in midfield and defense to great effect Like Mascherano, Martinez is excellent on the ball and comfortable playing from the back He averaged 92.4 passes per 90 minutes, more than any other player in the Eredivisie last season. He can play close or long and with an accuracy rate of nearly 90 percent, he was one of the best distributors of the ball in the league. If Frenkie de Jong can win away from Barcelona, this pair can gain control of games which will help United in attack and defence. This is the prize of ten that Hag is looking for. Even so, Ferdinand is right to highlight the physicality of strikers in the Premier League. Martinez has not experienced such an attack in the Netherlands. However, the 24-year-old has defended well against high balls and crosses and overall has not been exposed by the big boys when he has faced them. En route to winning the Eredivisie, Martinez won 79 of his aerial duels. Those stats compare well with United’s best defensive boss, Harry Maguire, who won 75 aerial battles in the Premier League last season – with both players winning more than seven in 10 challenges. Harry Maguire would be able to act as Martinez’s caretaker in the sets with his aerial power Of course, the overall quality of the Premier League is ahead of the Eredivisie, with more games being closely contested in England compared to Holland. (Ajax scored five or more goals on 10 occasions last season). But football in the Netherlands is not all about stroking the ball. There are now a similar number of headers per game in the English and Dutch top flights, according to Statsbomb. And there were actually more crosses in the Netherlands, with 18 per game, compared to England’s top-flight 12 last matchday. In league games, Martinez faced four forwards who were six-foot-three and over, and while they weren’t on the same level as Haaland and Nunez, they managed just two goals between them, one from the finish and another from a shot from the edge of the box. And the Ajax man did compete against Haaland and Nunez in the Champions League. Martinez excelled in Champions League against Haaland, snuffing out attacks But Benfica beat Ajax in the round of 16, Nunes scoring the decisive goal from a corner. He dominated the Norwegians in their one Group C encounter, dealing with Borussia Dortmund’s counter-attacking style with ease and using his quality on the ball to constantly break out of trouble and launch attacks in a complete performance. Benfica caused Ajax more problems in the last-16 tie, with Nunez scoring a 2-3 aggregate win in Amsterdam in the second leg from a corner. Ajax struggled to deal with set-pieces with Nunez and Jan Vertonghen causing havoc, but that was not just down to Martinez. His central defensive partner at Ajax, Jurrien Timber, 21, is only 5ft 10in himself and Nunez beat him to the winner. It’s worth bearing in mind that at United, in the 4-3-3 formation that Hagg always favored ten, Martinez would have a mind. Maguire, for all his detractors, is dominant in the air and uses his six-foot frame well, Raphael Varane is six-foot-three and Victor Lindelof six-foot-two. And what Martinez lacks in height, he makes up for on the ground. Apart from his poise on the ball, he is ranked as the second best defender in the Eredivisie (just behind teammate Timber) by statistics website, Soccerment. He scores well in all the usual measures such as duels won, tackles and interceptions. But when you watch him play, there’s a reading of the game that isn’t easily captured by data. He is consistent in forcing trouble with attackers at the right time, or drops to cover the running back and is excellent one-on-one. United’s defense looked dull last season, so bringing in such a smart and responsive player could be just what is needed. While a five foot centre-back is unusual in the Premier League, it is not unheard of in Europe. In fact, one of the greatest defenders the world has ever seen was of similar height. Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro is one centimeter taller than Martinez And Cannavaro (left) is considered one of the best defenders to ever play the game Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro was capped 136 times by Italy and helped his country win the 2006 World Cup by keeping five clean sheets. He won the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in the same year. Cannavaro, whose career spanned Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid, is only one centimeter taller than Martinez. He used tactical intelligence, strength and despite his stature, he was also admired for his stride, timing his jump to perfection. Martinez’s height may have worried the coaches at his first club in Argentina, Newell’s Old Boys, but it hasn’t stopped him since and just as Cannavaro is known for his huge leap…
