Manchester United started an interesting back three on Thursday night against West Ham with the absence of Matthijs de Ligt.
Ruben Amorim had to change his favoured back three to a greater degree than he would have wanted at Old Trafford on Thursday. Pre-game, Matthijs de Ligt was a glaring absence for United as he had a minor issue that the club didn’t want to risk.
This resulted in Ayden Heaven getting his first Premier League start of the season, in the middle of the back three, before being withdrawn at half-time because he had a yellow card.
Noussair Mazraoui and Luke Shaw rounded out the back three, both being solid for the majority of the game, although yet again failing to secure a clean sheet.
But one defender has positives this week.
Lisandro Martinez with bib warming up at Old Trafford.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Lisandro Martinez is currently faster than ever amid Manchester United return
Last weekend, Selhurst Park was the venue for Lisandro Martinez’s return to action for United, emerging from the bench for a late cameo.
Should Lisandro Martinez be an automatic starter for Man Utd? Whose place does he take?
Lisandro Martinez in the gym
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
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This comeback continued against West Ham, with Martinez being United’s fifth substitute while chasing the game for a winner.
It has been great to see the Butcher back in action, and the Stretford End had a special flag made for him on Thursday night depicting an Argentine flag with a Butcher’s knife.
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We haven’t seen much of Martinez due to his limited minutes, but when he plays more, we should see a much faster Butcher than ever before.
This is according to Carl Anka and Laurie Whitwell with The Athletic, who claim that during testing, Martinez is tracking as being faster than he ever has been before, reaching speeds of 33.8km/hr.
Martinez was never rapid, but adding a bit of speed would be really beneficial for him in Amorim’s high line.
Does Lisandro Martinez start for Manchester United’s strongest team?
Martinez is still only being eased back into action for United, having missed 10 months of action due to the ACL injury he suffered last February, and that slow reintegration should continue.
The last thing United or Martinez needs is to rush things and end up back in the injured column before he can really get back to his best.
Manchester United’s WIN RATE with and without Lisandro Martinez! 🇦🇷
Manchester United win 58.2% of games Lisandro Martinez plays vs 43.8% when he does not feature
Win rate with and without Martinez
Win rate with and without Martinez
Do you think Lisandro Martinez should be an automatic starter ahead of Luke Shaw when he is fully fit?
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However, once fully fit, Martinez is an absolute must to start on the left of United’s back three, likely taking Luke Shaw’s place, but he is a massive upgrade, particularly on the ball.
This then allows Shaw to play at left-wing-back, which is a role United need improvement immediately.
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