Exclusive: Erik ten Hag advised to change struggling Manchester United star’s position
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag surely has to do something about struggling new-boy Lisandro Martinez.
It’s early days for the Argentine at Old Trafford, but his first two games have been about as unconvincing as you could imagine, with the defender struggling badly with the physicality of the game against both Brighton and Brentford.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Man Utd midfielder Luke Chadwick believes Ten Hag could do well to use Martinez as a defensive midfielder or a left-back instead.
For now, Ten Hag has used Martinez as a central defender, which is where he mostly played during his time at Ajax, but Chadwick feels that there are bound to be some games in the Premier League where he might struggle in that role.
With decent ability on the ball, however, the 24-year-old might fare better further forward, or shifted out to the left, according to the ex-Red Devil.
“Obviously Lisandro Martinez, he’s tidy on the ball, but has been physically outmuscled, particularly against Brentford, and Danny Welbeck caused him a lot of problems for Brighton,” Chadwick said.
Lisandro Martinez has struggled for Manchester United
“It seems Ten Hag has wanted to use Martinez as a centre-back, that’s mostly how he used him at Ajax, but there might be certain games where that’s a challenge for him. Brighton went long against him, Brentford are quite direct too, with a big physical presence in Ivan Toney. For those two games, it was a big struggle for Martinez.
“He is good on the ball, he can find a pass, so maybe he could potentially be a bonus in that much-maligned defensive midfield role. At left-back as well, Luke Shaw hasn’t been that great.
“Maybe they could find a different place for him. It could be worth using him in a back three as well, with a back four not looking too convincing. I think he’s a gifted footballer who has something to offer, but it does look like he could struggle as a centre-back against some opponents.”
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— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) August 16, 2022
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