Transfer: He’s a leader – Rio Ferdinand hails Man United’s latest signing

 

Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has hailed the club’s new signing, Lisandro Martinez, describing him as a leader.

Ferdinand also said there are two small question marks surrounding Martinez.

Martinez is set to join Man United after Ajax accepted their bid of £46million for the versatile defender.

The 24-year-old has touched down in the UK ahead of his move to the Red Devils and will sign a five-year deal worth £120,000-a-week.

He will reunite with manager Erik ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax.

“The more I have looked into him and the vibes and the stories I am hearing and the mutterings from different people – it gets better,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel FIVE.

“I listened to an interview with Jurrien Timber, the young player that United were looking to sign, the centre back Martinez played alongside at Ajax. He was basically saying, “when I am not on my game and a bit out of concentration, Martinez always shouts at me, he always swears at me in his language and gets me going.”

“I have been shouting about the character element for a long time and from what I am hearing from various people, Timber being one of them, is that he has the character, he’s a leader, he demands off other people and he’s somebody who wants to get physical and very aggressive but who can also play.

“If you are going to ask is there any question marks about him, I think it would be his height and his pace would be the only two.

“I think they will be a mix because he’s very comfortable at playing both positions,” Ferdinand added.