Manchester United set to accelerate interest in race to sign £43m valued Lisandro Martinez

Manchester United are reportedly set to make a major push to sign Lisandro Martinez this weekend.

Lisandro Martinez, 24, is of interest to United and it is believed that the pull of Erik ten Hag will be enough to fend off interest from other suitors. The Argentine can play in several roles across the defence as well as defensive midfield.

Following his influential role in Ajax’s Eredivisie side last season, Martinez is a man in demand and the Daily Mail claims his club are holding out for around £43 million after rejecting two offers from Arsenal.

However, it is understood that the player has not closed the door on a move to Arsenal, yet we’ve yet to see if the pull of Ten Hag would sway any bidding war as he’d be recruiting a former player, he enjoyed success with.

The Mail’s Simon Jones writes: “Martinez is said to be very high on Ten Hag’s wish list and is regarded as their next target after Tyrell Malacia and Frenkie de Jong. For their part United have maintained they would need to offload defenders first with the likes of Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones all looking for fresh starts.”

United have been linked with a lot of players this summer, as is the case every summer, but there have been a handful of players who main targets for the club. You will find that many of these are players that the boss has worked with in the past, like Antony and Jurrien Timber.

Only time will tell if United can sign any of the players Ten Hag wants from Ajax.

SN’s verdict

Arsenal run of risk of looking desperate if they fail in their pursuit to sign Martinez, and I refuse to believe United would be so patient in their approach to make a move unless they had received assurances from the player and his representatives.

Timber seems set to stay at Ajax, so who becomes the fallback option after Martinez?

I can’t see Martinez going anywhere but Old Trafford if United make a bid and reach an agreement with Ajax. Something Arsenal have failed to do on two occasions this summer.

As much as Ten Hag would like to sign Pau Torres, I don’t think the funds will be available this summer.

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