Legendary former Manchester United centre-back Nemanja Vidic is a big fan of current defender Lisandro Martinez.
Joining the Red Devils from Ajax last summer in a deal worth £57m (Sky Sports), Argentina’s Martinez, 25, has quickly become a fan-favourite among the United faithful.
Although best known for his old-school approach to defending which sees him continually put his body on the line, the 25-year-old has also displayed great technical abilities and often appears calm when playing out from the back.
Consequently, prior to his season-ending injury which saw him break a bone in his foot against Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals earlier in the month, the 25-year-old has become one of the first names on Erik Ten Hag’s team sheet.
And when it comes to earning praise, there is perhaps no one better qualified to judge United defenders than Vidic. During his eight years at Old Trafford, the Serbian lifted 17 major trophies, including five Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.
What has Nemanja Vidic said about Lisandro Martinez?
Commenting on his old side’s current number six, Vidic, who spoke to former teammate Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel FIVE, said: “I like him, he likes to defends and that’s why I saw when he first came.
“Obviously, I had doubts when he came because of his height, but he is good in the air and he’s got away with his height.
“He knows how to position himself, I think he’s a good character and good for the dressing room because he has that winning mentality, he’s a fighter.
“He likes to defend, that desire you need to have on the pitch and you have to have certain players doing this ‘energy lifting’ and he does that. Unfortunately, he’s injured now but he’s definitely a great signing for us, he did great.”
(Play clip from 17:29)