Manchester United will meet with Ajax on Wednesday to discuss the deal regarding Lisandro Martinez who is wanted by the Old Trafford club this summer. This report comes from Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano who tends to be reliable for such news.
United have been trying to sign Martinez for a matter of weeks with Arsenal also interested in the player this summer. It has been said that the player always wanted a move to the Premier League and would be happy playing for either club.
That said, Arsenal’s pursuit of the player seems to have gone very quiet now that United have made their move, offering more than Arsenal did in their failed attempts to secure a fee for the Argentinian. United made an offer of £43 million for Martinez but it was rejected.
United’s bid included £5 million of add-ons which took the initial fee down to £38 million, which was not enough for the player to leave the Amsterdam club this summer. It is stated that United will need to match the €50 million (£43 million) fee wanted for the player – seemingly without add-ons.
Romano has stated that the negotiations for the Argentinian are getting into the key stages, which seems good for United and the player as both will end up getting their wish. This comes a day after Richard Arnold and John Murtough travelled to Barcelona on Monday.
That was to get the deal to sign Frenkie de Jong from the Catalan club, which had stalled after almost two months of negotiation. If United managed to sign both players, it will be considered a good summer for the club as they seek to give Erik ten Hag a good chance of competing.
United played their first pre-season match of the summer earlier on Tuesday, beating Liverpool 4-0 with goals scored by Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri. It was nothing to get excited about – well not the win but the performance, which shows things will change.
Last season was poor for United and a mixture of getting the best out of the players that Ten Hag wants to keep and bringing in some quality new players who will fit the profile Ten Hag has been looking for, will do United the world of good.
Martinez helped Ajax to back-to-back Eredivisie titles whilst playing in the Netherlands and was named the clubs Player of the Year for last season – working with Ten Hag again will be good for him as he will seemingly have a head start regarding the coaching, methods etc of the manager.
Written by John Walker
