It was a great start to life for Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United on Sunday.
Although the Reds were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by the La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano, the Argentinian centre-back put in an impressive individual performance during his hour on the pitch.
In what was his first start since completing his £55 million move, Erik ten Hag lined the Argentinian centre-back up on the left side of his central defence alongside Raphael Varane.
This had been a position occupied by Harry Maguire in more recent seasons, although the England international has been playing on the right instead so far in pre-season, indicating Martinez looks likely to be the club’s first choice on that side going forward.
Based on his display on Sunday, it’s easy to see why Ten Hag ranks the 24-year-old so highly. The Dutchman was asked in the wake Sunday’s draw whether he was surprised by the speed with which the former Ajax star has settled in, and he replied: "No, but I think it was a really good combination with Rapha and they played really solid and that was good to see.
"As always, the question is how will you integrate and I think he has integrated quite well into the team."
Martinez’s excellent display can be captured in his underlying numbers from the clash. He won 100 per cent of his tackles and regained possession five times for his side. Not only that, but he was a key cog in possession for the Red Devils too.
Building out from the back will be integral to successfully delivering football in line with Ten Hag’s ideologies at Old Trafford, therefore it was essential that United landed a top ball-playing centre-half this summer.
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Martinez finished the game with a pass success rate of 96 per cent, with 100 per cent of his passes into the final third finding their intended target.
United backed Ten Hag over the recruitment department with the signing of Martinez when Villarreal defender Pau Torres had been recommended as the prime left-footed centre-half to target, and Sunday was some justification as to why.
There were legitimate concerns before his arrival about his size. The Argentina international stands at just 5ft10, which is small compared to many other top central defenders from across Europe. In fact, he actually ranks among the smallest 10 per cent of central defenders across the division.
However, he coped well on Sunday and now looks certain to be included in United's starting XI for their opening Premier League clash next Monday against Brighton.
