goalkeeper Tom Heaton has sung the praises of his new teammate Lisandro Martinez following an impressive start to life at Old Trafford.
Martinez officially completed his move from to United for £46million last week and the versatile defender is already making an impression on his fellow Red Devils players and fans.
On Sunday, the Argentine made his unofficial debut for United, playing an hour of the 1-1 home draw with Rayo Vallenco, the club’s last match before the new season kicks off this weekend with a clash against Brighton.
Playing at centre-back alongside , Martinez put in a classy performance, with his skill on the ball particularly noteworthy but Heaton claims ‘that’s been the case all week,’ as the 24-year-old has been showing off his skills all week in training.
Heaton said: ‘I really enjoyed playing with him today, I think he’ll be a top, top player for the club. As I say, I thought he was outstanding today and I’m looking forward to watching him this season.
‘For what he brings, physicality, how he uses his body, what he gives you in terms of mobility and on the ball and personality-wise, I think he’s going to add a lot to the team.
‘You can see already what he brings. He brings that sort of larger-than-life personality at the back, controlling. I look forward to hopefully playing with him more this year.’
United have had an impressive pre-season, picking up wins against Liverpool, Melbourne Victory, and Crystal Palace, as the team gets to grips with Erik ten Hag’s style of football, and while the transfer window hasn’t been as productive as they would have liked, there is still a lot of positivity around the club as the summer comes to an end.
‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it [pre-season], new manager coming in, he’s brought a new energy to the football club, I think you can probably feel that,’ Heaton added.
‘[A] new style, I think everyone’s taken to it really well. I think after a real disappointing campaign last time out, we’re going into this term with a fair more optimism.
‘It takes time, it won’t be an overnight [thing] but certainly the building blocks are there and everyone’s on the same page to take it forward.
‘There’s certainly a calm excitement in the group and we’re looking forward to Sunday.’
, .
,  and .
