Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag eyeing Ajax raid for Lisandro Martinez

Argentina centre-back Lisandro Martínez has been added to the list of Manchester United targets ahead of Erik ten Hag’s arrival as manager.

Martínez, 24, has been the cornerstone of Ten Hag’s defence for the last three seasons at Ajax and is seen as an ideal player in the Dutchman’s one-v-one defensive tactics that have brought him Eredivisie titles.

Ten Hag’s backline system at Ajax was built on speed, with Martínez reading games and also passing the ball out of defence.

The new United manager is a huge admirer of Martínez’s team-mate Jurrien Timber, 20, who he developed at the Johan Cruyff ArenA and recently insisted “all the top clubs in Europe have Timber in their sights”.

Martínez, however, is also a player he believes has been one of the keys to his successes at Ajax where he has won three titles. The South American arrived in 2019 from Defensa y Justicia after starting in the youth team of Lionel Messi’s former team Newell’s Old Boys.

With three seasons left on his contract at Ajax, Martínez would be expected to cost at least €30 million to join the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld in leaving the Dutch club to pursue careers in other leagues.

Ten Hag would ideally like a quick centre-back but other priorities include two midfielders, in particular a No 6 as an orchestrator to build attacks from, which was the way he played at Ajax. Paul Pogba’s contract at Old Trafford is expiring while Nemanja Matic has confirmed his departure, leaving United short in that area.

Telegraph Sport reported last week that Frenkie de Jong, the Barcelona midfielder, is among their more ambitious targets for the role.

In attack, Ten Hag would like a striker but much will depend on how big his budget will be, with the club out of the Champions League next season. United’s recruitment team are expected to meet later this week to plan the summer.

Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, 22, is an obvious candidate for big-spending European clubs but will be at the top end of the market.