Arsenal are looking to make a move for Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez who also happens to be on the radar of Manchester United, claims The Athletic.
Man United had been linked with the 24-year-old last month as Erik ten Hag is desperate to bring in a new central defensive figure into his new-look line-up and now even the Gunners seemed to have joined in.
Lisandro Martinez is nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ due to his aggressiveness on the pitch and he’s played in 120 games for Ajax across all competitions. He’s also very good with the ball at his feet and these are the kind of defenders who are currently ruling European football.
His contract with the Dutch side expires in 2025 and he’s currently valued at £28 million but since Ajax are not a very fierce bargainer, a transfer fee of about £40-45 million should be enough to initiate a sale.
Transfertalk: Arsenal have enquired about Lisandro Martinez as they look to see if they can strengthen their backline this summer.
Source: @TheAthleticUK #Martinez pic.twitter.com/yrn6obxbhz
— weTalk Ajax (@wetalkajax) June 17, 2022
Are Arsenal genuinely interested in challenging Man United?
Man United have not been very heavily linked with Lisandro Martinez because most of their focus has been on Pau Torres and Jurrien Timber but all that could change very soon.
As per some rumours, Timber is not too keen to join Man United and this might prompt Erik ten Hag to shift his focus to his teammate Martinez.
As far as Arsenal are concerned, they are about to get rid of Pablo Mari so there will be space for a new central defender to come in but we doubt if someone like Lisandro Martinez will get regular starts at the Emirates Stadium.
William Saliba is not moving back to France which means Mikel Arteta already has four central defenders and this will make any move for Lisandro Martinez a lot complicated.
Also, The Athletic report is claiming that Mikel Arteta is ready to put his faith in Saliba so we think the Ajax defender, as of now, is a contingency option.
TFFB likelihood meter: 5/10
Arsenal will find no harm in testing the waters for the 24-year-old but we seriously doubt if they are going to make any sort of concrete moves for him this summer.
However, if Man United fail to land both Pau Torres and Jurrien Timber they will shift to their backup targets and we are pretty sure the name of Lisandro Martinez is on that list.
He’s previously worked with Erik ten Hag so a move to Manchester United is very likely but we don’t think Arsenal will be signing him.
