legend has praised the club’s new signing Lisandro Martinez but says there are two small question marks surrounding the versatile defender.
Martinez is set to join the Red Devils after accepted their bid of £46million for the 24-year-old who was also heavily linked to .
Erik ten Hag was keen to reunite with his former player and Ferdinand believes he will be a fantastic addition to the United squad, both on and off the pitch.
‘The more I’ve looked into him and the vibes and the stories I’m hearing and the mutterings from different people – it gets better,’ the former United defender said on his YouTube channel .
‘I listened to an interview with Jurrien Timber, the young player that United were looking to sign, the centre back Martinez played alongside at Ajax. He was basically saying “when I’m not on my game and a bit out of concentration, Martinez always shouts at me, he always swears at me in in his language and gets me going.”
‘I’ve been shouting about the character element for a long time and from what I’m hearing from various people, Timber being one of them, is that he has the character, he’s a leader, he demands off other people and he’s somebody who wants to get physical and very aggressive but who can also play.’
Ferdinand did however have two small reservations around the Argentina international, both of which relate to his physicality.
‘If you’re going to ask is there any question marks about him, I think it would be his height and his pace would be the only two.’
At 5 ft 9 in, Martinez is far shorter than the current crop of United defenders such as Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in passing and technical ability.
It is somewhat unclear where Martinez will play, as while he is a natural centre-back, he has frequently been deployed as a defensive midfielder and can also fill in at left-back.
‘I think they’ll be a mix because he’s very comfortable at playing both positions,’ Ferdinand added.
‘If it suits them to play him in midfield and they want the extra body, an extra bit of resilience in front of the back four, protection and somebody who knows how to defend in there, then I think they may be utilizing that.
‘But if we’ve got a lot of the ball and we’re expecting to dominate possession against the so-called lesser teams, maybe then he may not be called in for that position and may slot back into the centre-back position or maybe not even starting.’
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