Lisandro Martinez was a fan favourite at Manchester United for a long time, but his spell at the club is ending in ignominy.
Lisandro Martinez
Lisandro Martinez
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"He's a warrior," Erik ten Hag said of Lisandro Martinez after bringing him with him from Ajax to Manchester United in the summer of 2022, and for a long time, fans of his new club could associate with that.
Old Trafford quickly fell for 'the butcher', the aggressive, no-nonsense defender who left it all out on the pitch. Ten Hag had identified a squad lacking character and personality when he took the job and signing Martinez was part of the fix.
United were better when he was available, but his approach on the pitch meant he wasn't always fit. Plenty of his injuries were picked up in the line of duty and taking that away from him would mean he wouldn't be the same player.
But now the butcher is butchering his own team. A centre-back who looked set to add to the lineage of Argentines being taken to the hearts of United fans is heading for the exit door in ignominy.
Martinez's form has been disastrous this season and reached a nadir on Saturday. It's impossible to know what was going through his head as he sprinted across his penalty box and clattered his forearm into Wesley Fofana. It was plastic machismo and it was brainless defending.
The 28-year-old might have once carried a reputation in the Premier League, but now it is only one of calamity and catastrophe. In a defence that is falling apart at the seams, he has become a liability.
His sending-off at Stamford Bridge means he will be suspended for the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday, but Michael Carrick has to drop him for the midweek Champions League clash with Roma as well.
Martinez's defending has been poor all season. He clearly wants out of the club and only he knows if he has downed tools, but compared to the player who brought so much to the party in his first few years at United, he certainly looks like a player going through the motions.
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That is all the more galling given his attack on the club's leadership in Madrid last month. Martinez won the respect of supporters for calling out director of football Jason Wilcox and he was right with what he had to say, but any goodwill from putting his head above the parapet has vanished now.
Carrick is compromised in defence with injuries at left-back, but he could bring Matthijs de Ligt into the side to partner Harry Maguire, while Leny Yoro can also move back into a central position, with the error-prone Noussair Mazraoui given another chance. Ayden Heaven is also waiting in the wings.
Either way, with Carrick fighting for his job, he needs players whose commitment isn't in doubt, and at the moment he can't say that about Martinez. It's a shame it is going to end this way.
He has delivered plenty of memorable moments in his four years at Old Trafford and for a while he was arguably the most important player at the club, given the way his passing and aggressive defending could transform the way the team played.
Those positives have now disappeared. Martinez wants out and United should facilitate that in January. It only takes one player to bring a negative mood into the dressing room for that to spread quickly. Carrick doesn't need Martinez around the place right now.
United have left their defensive rebuild too long, but they can start it ahead of schedule by getting rid of Martinez, a player whose heart is clearly no longer in it in Manchester.