Virgil van Dijk brands criticism of Lisandro Martinez 'ABSOLUTE RUBBISH' as he leaps to his defence

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has hit back at criticism over Lisandro Martinez's height by lauding his early impact at Manchester United.

The Argentina international arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax this summer in a deal worth up to £57million and has been an almost ever-present under boss Erik ten Hag.

Martinez, however, has had mixed reviews on his start to life at United after coming under intense criticism following back-to-back defeats to start the season, predominantly for his lack of height.

The 5 foot 9 inch centre-back has eased most people's concerns by forming a formidable partnership with Raphael Varane, which has picked up five clean sheets in their last six matches - with most now praising him for his displays.

Despite a change in opinion from most, fellow defender van Dijk leap to Martinez's defence and shut down the criticism of him when he was a guest on Gary Neville's podcast The Overlap.

'People talking about Lisandro Martínez and his height, are talking absolute rubbish,' Van Dijk said on The Overlap.

'It can help as a centre-back if you're a bit taller, but what he's done since coming to the Premier League, has been good.

'He's a good signing for Manchester United, he's good on the ball, he's very passionate, so I can only speak positively about him.

'I have respect for what he's achieved so far, and I hope he does well at United, but that he doesn't get successful there with winning trophies!

'In England, everyone loves criticising players about everything, but that's fine because you can't change it.

'Lisandro has shown many good performances already, and he shouldn't think about the outside noise around him.'

The Dutchman's defence of Martinez comes just after Graeme Souness revealed that he is still not convinced and feels that eventually the defender will get caught out.

Souness told TalkSport: 'That worry for me is still there. If you watch at set-pieces, he still uses a blocker or they use him on the near post. He's not got the physique to take on the big guys and man-mark them.

'I think he's brought a bit of aggression to them. He definitely has. My experience in the dressing rooms are, if you've got a couple people that are willing to stand up and fight, you've got several people coming in behind you.

'There's a lot to like about him. I like his aggression. The first thing he did, when he played Liverpool, he's gone right through Mo Salah early on. For the rest of the game, Salah was looking for him. I like that.

'I just feel, when you're that size, you'll get caught. You'll get pinned in the box. I don't think he's terribly quick. I don't think he's terribly good on the ball. But he's got something about him that makes other people play [well].

'5ft 9in and he's playing against guys that are 6ft 2in. I can't tell you a centre-back, in my time in the English game, that's been super successful being that size.'