€67m Man Utd star ‘a stopgap’ as BRUTAL Ruben Amorim axe decision mooted | OneFootball

Gordon Hill has told Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim that he needs to move on from Lisandro Martinez, as the Argentina international defender is brutally described as “a stopgap”.

Martinez has been on the books of Man Utd since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Eredivisie club Ajax. Man Utd paid an initial fee of €57.37million for the Argentina international central defender, with a further €10million in add-ons (up to £58.7m, $78.3m)

Erik ten Hag was the main reason behind the deal, with the then-Man Utd manager having worked with Martinez for Ajax.

Martinez, who won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, was one of Man Utd’s best players in the 2022/23 campaign, but he has had injury issues since then.

The 27-year-old centre-back – who won the Copa America with Argentina in 2021 and 2024, and the FA Cup in 2024 and the EFL Cup in 2023 with Man Utd – has been on the sidelines since February when he tore his ACL.

Former Man Utd winger Gordon Hill believes that Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim needs to move on from Martinez.

The pundit has described the Argentine star as “a stopgap” and has the same message regarding Casemiro.

Hill told United In Focus, a Man Utd-centric news outlet: “I think he’s a stopgap for United. I think they’ve got to get a mainstay. I think he was a stopgap.

“I think Casemiro is a stopgap. I think there are a few players that have just been stopgaps that will do a certain period of time and then all of a sudden…

“And it’s not the sell-by date. These players have done great. They’ve been fabulous for their country or whatever the teams they played for before.

“But United… We’re not a second-rate club.

“We are the elite club, and we should be for the elite players.

“But there comes a time when you’ve got to stop just pulling in the player because he’s a stopgap.”

When will Lisandro Martinez return from injury for Man Utd?

It is harsh of Hill to dismiss Martinez as “a stopgap” when he is still only 27 years of age.

Injury problems have adversely affected the Argentina international centre-back, but when fit and available, he is one of the most combative defenders around who puts his body on the line.

Despite Hill’s suggestion about Martinez, Man Utd manager Amorim has the defender in his plans and wants him to fight for his place when he finally recovers.

The London Evening Standard quotes Amorim as saying about Martinez: “I don’t know when he will be fit.

“He trained really well, not with us but on the next pitch and I was watching the training.

“He is feeling well and responding well, so I don’t want to say a specific day or one week, but he is near to start training with the team.”

When asked about Martinez’s place in the team, Amorim noted: “Then it depends on the rhythm of Licha, if he wins the place or not.

“That will depend on him, but he is closer to a return to training.”

Martinez is under contract at Man Utd until the summer of 2027, with the option for a further year.

The defender has made 91 appearances for the Red Devils so far in his career, scoring three goals and providing three assists in the process.

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