Lisandro Martinez: From being considered too short to Man Utd €64m signing

Manchester United are about to complete the signing of Lisandro Martinez for a figure that will be one of the highest in this summer's transfer market.

The 24-year-old centre-back will move for 54 million euros fixed plus 10m euros in variables. In total, it'll be around 64m euros for this Argentine, who'll sign with the Red Devils until 2027.

The allure of Erik Ten Hag, the player's former coach at Ajax, proved to be the difference and at Old Trafford they will have a solid player to improve their defence, or even their midfield, with Lisandro having shown his versatility for Ajax.

At 1.75 meters, Martinez isn't as tall as you might expect. In fact, he was transferred from Newell's Old Boys for that very reason.

Martinez only played one game for that Argentine club, before he was dismissed for being too short.

"Juan Manuel Llop arrived as coach and, from the beginning, I felt that he didn't like the way I played," Martinez reflected.

"He wanted something else from a centre-back. And for me it was the height issue, but I wasn't the one to tell him what to do.

"You have to respect his tastes and decisions and I don't hold grudges at all."

After leaving Newell's, he then had to go on loan to Defensa y Justicia, the Argentine club who then bought him and sold him to Ajax in 2019 for 7m euros.

Interestingly, Newell's, despite discarding him at the time, will receive around 1.3m euros through FIFA's compensation mechanism for training clubs.

How will Lisandro Martinez fit in at Manchester United?

Martinez has been in Manchester since Friday with his long-time agent, Christian Bragarnik, who is also Elche's top shareholder.

Martinez arrives after winning four titles in three seasons with Ajax: two Eredivisies, a Dutch Cup and a Dutch Super Cup.

He played 118 official matches and scored six goals, never being sent off.

He has made seven official appearances for Argentina and Lionel Scaloni has him among his regulars for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, although, for now, he will likely be on the bench, with 'Cuti' Romero and Nicolas Otamendi as first-choice centre-backs.

The 64m euros fee will make him the most expensive Argentine defender in history, after the 54m euros paid for 'Cuti' Romero when he completed his transfer between Atalanta and Tottenham.

He'll also be the third-most expensive Argentine ever. The second was Angel Di Maria, who cost 75m euros when moving from Real Madrid to Manchester United, while the record is held by Gonzalo Higuain, who cost 90m euros when moving from Napoli to Juventus.

Martinez will hope to hit the ground running at Manchester United, whether that's at centre-back or elsewhere in Ten Hag's system.