Despite commentators and pundits alike making more references to his height than his technical ability, Lisandro Martinez has won Manchester United's Player of the Month award for August after a number of outstanding displays. This includes Man of the Match performances against Liverpool and Southampton.
Martinez has taken to the Premier League exceptionally well, probably due to the fact he is playing in an Erik ten Hag system which he is familiar with from playing under the coach at Ajax. And in the last three games, he has formed a formidable partnership with Raphael Varane.
His hard tackling style and also his tendency to jee up the crowd and celebrate whenever he wins the ball back has also contributed to getting the fans on side and he has quickly become a favourite amongst the United fanbase. This obviously contributed to him winning his award for August.
ALSO READ: Man United fans sent a reminder to the Glazers after Leicester win
But this could be reminiscent of another former United defender. Eric Bailly won the fans to his side after a number of hard tackling imperious performances, including a Man of the Match performance in the Community Shield against Leicester City.
And at the end of August he received the club's Player of the Month award, of course, the career that followed was one of ups and downs, consistently blighted by injury. Martinez will be hoping to avoid a similar fate, but just why did both centre-backs make such an instant impression on the fanbase?
Maybe at both points, United fans thought their centre-backs were too passive, pining for the days that Nemanja Vidic would come racing in and clatter an opponent. Nothing gets the crowd riled up like a good strong challenge; before Bailly, it was Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, before Martinez it was an out-of-form Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Varane, all passive defenders who try to defend the space rather than the man.
Or maybe it's the passion. United fans were unhappy with a lot of their players last season as they were when the team was managed by Louis van Gaal in the 2015/16 season; they wanted to see someone care. Martinez is now doing that in spades as Bailly did in the past.
They both put their body on the line to stop chances from happening. Hopefully, Martinez can now continue to do that for years to come as part of a new-look defence at Old Trafford.
READ NEXT:
- All the latest Man United news, views and gossip
- Erik ten Hag's best Man United line-up after transfers
- The Man United moment that summed up mentality change under Erik ten Hag
- Jadon Sancho explains what Erik ten Hag has changed at Man United
- Scott McTominay is proving Steve McClaren right at Man United
