{"id":1269261,"date":"2022-07-18T18:43:37","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T17:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1269261"},"modified":"2022-07-18T20:17:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T19:17:44","slug":"lisandro-martinez-mythbusting-man-utd-transfers","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/lisandro-martinez-mythbusting-man-utd-transfers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United: is the centre-back too small for the Premier League?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester United have made it a short king summer by agreeing a deal to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Argentine centre-back will cost United \u00a348.5m in a guaranteed fee with \u00a38.5m in potential add-ons. He is due to have a medical and confirm that he meets visa requirements to work in the UK but once those formalities are out of the way, he’ll be a United man.<\/p>\n

And what a man! All 175cm of him!<\/p>\n

For that is the big story around Lisandro Martinez: his height, or lack of it relative to his position on the field. Where centre-backs are usually the tallest players in the side, standing 5’9″ Martinez is set to be the shortest one in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said of his right-back Gary Neville: “If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre-half in Britain,” which meant that, according to the great manager, Neville standing 180cm (or 5’11”) made him too short to play in central defence.<\/span><\/p>\n

What would he think of Martinez, then? Well, until someone asks him, we can but speculate.<\/p>\n

We know full well what Twitter thinks of Martinez, though, because the jokes have been flying high. But is all the furore over Martinez’s height making a mountain out of a molehill? Let’s have a look.<\/p>\n

Lisandro Martinez is short<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The shortest centre-back in the league!<\/p>\n

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You\u2019re telling me I can look this Martinez brother in the eye? pic.twitter.com\/MYhyyrCieL<\/a><\/p>\n

— Zah (@DaMidgetZimbo) July 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n