Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has rubbished criticism of new Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and believes he has shown what a good player he is despite his lack of height.
The Argentine star moved to Old Trafford from Ajax over the summer in a £57m deal but got off to the worst possible start, losing back-to-back games against Brighton and Brentford.
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In both games, Martinez – who is 5ft 9in – was criticised for struggling to deal with the height & power of Danny Welbeck and Ivan Toney, with some pundits suggesting the player’s stature would not work in the Premier League.
Jamie Carragher claimed it would be a ‘huge problem’ for United this campaign and that every team would be ‘crackers’ not to target him – something Brentford’s Thomas Frank admitted to doing.
But, since then, Martinez has rarely come out second-best against any of the strikers he has played against, helping his team record five clean sheets in their last 10 league games and quickly becoming a fans’ favourite.
Van Dijk, who remains the benchmark for centre-backs in the Premier League, saw Martinez close up when the Red Devils beat Liverpool this season and is in no doubt about how good he is, hitting back at the criticism he has received.
Asked about Martinez and the backlash he faced so far this season, Van Dijk told The Overlap: ‘The height difference is something everyone wants [to make something of]. You shouldn’t even mention it.
‘Obviously it can help if you’re a bit taller, but also it can not help you in certain ways.
‘So I think he did fantastic against us. He is a good signing for United. Very passionate, good on the ball, so I can only speak positively about him.
‘I’ve got respect for what he’s achieved so far and hopefully he’ll be doing well for United – but not getting [too] successful!’
Probed further on whether he disliked how Martinez was attacked by pundits, Van Dijk added: ‘I think in England everyone has to say something about everyone. That’s just it. But that’s fine, you can’t change that.
‘But he’s shown already many good performances, and he shouldn’t even think about all this other stuff.’
Van Dijk also named Olivier Giroud as the ‘bogeyman’ striker he has had the most trouble against, saying: ‘He was the striker I’ve struggled against the most. I always felt like I had him, but somehow, he always managed to score against us.
‘Whether it was for Arsenal, Chelsea or France, he always scored. The year we won the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, we beat Chelsea 5-2. We were winning 3-0 and he scored a scrappy goal, and I thought to myself, “We’re winning comfortably, but he’s still scoring against me!”’
