Manchester United issue transfer ultimatum to £57m Erik ten Hag signing

Manchester United have reportedly issued a transfer ultimatum to Lisandro Martinez amid his ongoing fitness problems.

Erik ten Hag brought Martinez to Old Trafford in a £57m deal from Ajax in 2022 having worked with the Argentine defender at the Dutch club.

Several pundits raised concerns over Martinez’s physique and how he would cope in the Premier League but the 28-year-old impressed in his first season in Manchester, making 45 appearances and helping United win the Carabao Cup.

But Martinez has struggled to stay fit since then, missing 65 Premier League games over the past three seasons due to various injury setbacks.

The centre-back enjoyed a consistent run in the team in the second-half of last season but another injury during Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain hampered his preparations for the new campaign.

Martinez was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s Premier League opener against Hull City on Saturday and will hope to get some minutes when fellow newly-promoted Ipswich Town visit Old Trafford this weekend.

The 2022 World Cup winner has entered the final year of his contract at United but club bosses have the option to extend his deal by another 12 months.

It is not guaranteed that Manchester United will choose to activate that clause, however, leaving Martinez facing a ‘fight’ to save his Red Devils career.

While Old Trafford chiefs rate Martinez highly, talkSPORT say they want him to ‘prove his ability to stay fit’ or risk being sold next summer.

Wayne Rooney has repeatedly urged Manchester United to sign a new centre-back this summer, while Gary Neville fears Michael Carrick’s options at the back are ‘not good enough’.

‘What that result highlighted is that the Man United defence isn’t good enough,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast after the shock opening defeat to Hull.

‘To be fair the club probably know that, they rebuilt the forward line last summer and rebuilt the midfield this summer with a few signings.

‘I don’t know if they’ve got the money or not but they do need a centre-back, and they do need full-backs. They just do. There’s no other way of putting it really. That was highlighted yesterday.’

Rooney, meanwhile, said on Stick to United: ‘I’d like to see another centre-back, I’d like to see another central midfield player and another centre forward.

‘So I think there’s still a lot of work there to be done, but I think it’s really important that the players they do bring in, they get it right and they get the right players in.’

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