Real Madrid are reportedly looking to Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez to improve their side, with the Argentine on their shortlist for next season.
Martinez is, on his day, one of the best defenders in the Premier League – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted he was “top five” in the world after this season’s Community Shield. The defender makes up for his diminutive stature with a lot of other skills in his game.
In his first season at Old Trafford, when he played 27 games, the Red Devils finished third in the Premier League. Last season, he played just 11 games due to injury, and United came eighth, his unavailability not helping his side’s form.
Martinez has been largely unencumbered this term, and United are now turning things around under new boss Ruben Amorim.
There will be some fear from the Manchester outfit following reports that the centre-back is of interest to Real Madrid.
According to TBRFootball, Los Blancos are paying close attention to the Argentine’s situation at Old Trafford, and have him on their shortlist for potential reinforcements next season.
Martinez is not the only United player courted by Real, as it’s believed they’re willing to pay £45million for Diogo Dalot. It’s not clear what sort of bid they’d lodge for Martinez.
Martinez’s injury troubles should concern Real
Real have seen centre-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba spend considerable amounts of time on the sidelines this season.
As a result, they find themselves in Barcelona’s shadow in La Liga.
Adding Martinez to the mix to shore up the defence may not be the best idea, given he has missed more than 50 games between club and international football since joining United in 2022.
If those injury problems persist, and were to coincide with times when other Real centre-backs are sidelined, the La Liga giants could find themselves in trouble.
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Real have been very keen on landing Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in the summer, when his contract is up, but they now have massive competition in the form of Premier League champions Manchester City.
Los Blancos also have interest in another Premier League full-back: Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.
They are also said to be ‘seriously considering’ another raid on Liverpool, with superstar Mohamed Salah on their shortlist for the summer.
Meanwhile, interest in a Real superstar is also evident from many sides, and TEAMtalk has looked into who wants to land Vinicius Junior, and where he might end up if he were to leave the club.
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