‘They’re crackers’ - Jamie Carragher ‘convinced’ this Man Utd player ‘cannot play’ in Premier League

Jamie Carragher has claimed that Lisandro Martinez’s lack of natural physicality represents a “huge problem” for Manchester United this season.

The Argetina international was signed from Ajax earlier in the summer for a fee of around £52 million, but has struggled to settle in his first two matches in the Premier League, and was substituted at half-time in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford.

One of the main concerns that has been raised by many observers when the discussing the 24-year-old is his height, and how it could impact his ability to compete with the more physically-demanding aspects of English football. Standing at around 5’9”, Martinez is notably shorter than most other centre-backs in the top flight.

And Carragher is of the opinion that the defender’s stature could become a recurring issue for United this term.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the former Liverpool defender said: “The problem he [Erik ten Hag] has got, straight away, is the signing of Lisandro Martinez at the back.

“Now we should never judge managers or players too early, but I’m convinced this cannot work because he’s the size of 5’9” playing in a back four. Maybe he could play left-back, maybe he could play in a back three, but in a back four, he cannot play there.

“Brighton are one of the best passing teams you’ll see in the Premier League, but against United, they went 20% long with their passes. That’s the second-highest they’ve done since August 2021. Last season’s average was 12%, so they’ve nearly doubled what they do because of the size of the Manchester United centre-back.

“Brentford’s manager Thomas Frank mentioned this after the game.

“The reason why they’re going to have a problem with him at centre-back is because every single team who play Manchester United - maybe bar Manchester City and Liverpool - should target that. If they don’t, they’re crackers.

“I think they’ve got a huge problem.”

United’s next match in the Premier League is against Liverpool on Monday evening, with the Red Devils bidding to avoid a third consecutive defeat in the top flight.