Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez is the best defender in the Premier League on current form.
The Argentine, who joined the club from Ajax for a fee north of £50million last summer, produced another excellent performance to help the Reds beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday and climb up to third in the table. He has gone from strength to strength since being reunited with Erik ten Hag back in July, justifying why the Dutchman was so intent on signing him.
Offering excellent ball-playing credentials and unrivalled passion and commitment, Martinez has slotted in seamlessly at Old Trafford, resulting in him becoming an immediate fans' favourite. He has also formed an excellent relationship with Raphael Varane at the heart of the defence.
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And with the Argentine continuing to go from strength to strength and consistently performing at the very top of his game, Ferdinand does not believe, on current form, he has much competition to be considered the best defender in the Premier League right now.
"On form, right now, I don't think there is much argument coming from anywhere else," said Ferdinand, speaking on the Vibe with Five Podcast. "He's dominant, he's aggressive, he's a leader, he communicates well, he shows character and he is there in big moments.
"But I was one of the ones that questioned him and asked: 'Is he physically going to be able to compete here if teams isolate him?' That is where Ten Hag is being confident in tactically being able to keep teams away from being able to dominate enough possession to isolate someone like Martinez.
"Up to now he hasn't been exposed, in that sense, on a regular basis, week after week, meaning we are not sat here saying it's a reoccurring problem that continues to happen, where someone is pulling out on him and jumping over him, or bullying him physically.
"We haven't seen that, that has not become the narrative. You have to say well done to him, but also well done about the recruitment up to this point right now."
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