Lisandro Martinez was called up to play in central midfield against Aston Villa following Bruno Fernandes’ injury, which is not unusual for a Manchester United centre-back.
Lisandro Martinez replaced the injured Bruno Fernandes against Aston Villa and is ready to continue in midfield. Martinez was called up from the bench to play in the center of the pitch at Villa Park and could be drafted into the same role against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Manchester United’s captain is sidelined after being sent off at half-time of Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Villa. Manager Ruben Amorim has only three midfielders fit for the first team ahead of Newcastle’s visit to Old Trafford: Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount.
The United manager handed his debut spot to academy graduates Jack Fletcher and Shay Lacey on Sunday, but it was Martinez he relied on at half-time. The Argentine defender recently returned from an 11-month absence due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury and acquitted himself well at Villa.
Martinez is primarily a centre-back, but his selfless attitude has come to the fore during his three years at Ajax, where he was coached in positional flexibility and played at left-back and midfield during his time at United. “We have a lot of good midfielders. As I have said many times in interviews, I will play wherever the manager wants to use me,” he said in March 2023, when Erik ten Hag was running out of options.
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Playing Martinez in midfield was mooted in November, but Amorim’s response suggested he was not particularly keen on the idea. When asked about the possibility, he said, “I can’t say.” “I think a smart, intelligent football player can play in many positions, but it’s not the right position for him.
“He doesn’t work there (currently), so he needs more time to work there. But if there’s an emergency, he can play (there). I’m not thinking about that.”
Casemiro will return from suspension against Newcastle, but the injury could not have come at a worse time for the 20-year-old, meaning Koby Mainu will miss the game after sitting on the bench and frustrated all season.
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“We’ll see what we do,” Amorim said Sunday. “I think Koby Mainu will be out and Bruno will be out as well. So we’ll see. We’ll find a solution. We won’t make excuses. We need to win the next game and we’ll try to win the next game too.”
Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire are also sidelined with injuries, while Amad, Brian Mbeumo and Nouseir Mazraoui are away to play in the African Cup of Nations. This combination leaves Amorim extremely short on options, especially considering Amorim’s low opinion of the level of academy players.
Nevertheless, the United manager admitted that he will not rely on the January transfer window to resolve the crisis. “What we can’t do is go into January, try to do everything in a hurry, make mistakes, and then ‘here we go again’ with a lot of mistakes,” Amorim said. “I’m not going to get together (with club leaders) Jason (Wilcox) and Omar (Berada) and say, ‘We need a lot of players,’ because we have a plan.
“If we have to suffer, the club comes first. Of course we are in a period where we need points, but we need to find a solution and we will continue with our plan. You feel at this moment that we are going to suffer, but we will see. We have to deal with it.”
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