Mikael Silvestre dismisses Lisandro Martinez concern after Manchester United transfer

Lisandro Martinez will not be hampered by his height in the modern era of the Premier League, according to former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre.

The new United arrival stands at 5ft 9ins and some have cast worries about his stature against the likes of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez of Liverpool. Erik ten Hag has long been an admirer of the Argentine for his positional thinking and anticipation.

Many argue this mitigates his lack of height and helped him become Ajax’s player of the year last season. Silvestre argues that United fans needn’t be worried about Martinez's height given the way most teams play in the Premier League these days.

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Speaking to 888sport, he pointed to other ‘small’ centre-backs who have been successful in the game and outlined how strikers look and play a lot different to how they did during his career.

He said: “There have been famous players as tall as Martinez. Roberto Ayala at Valencia. Ivan Cordoba at Inter. There haven’t been many but if you have a good spring and good timing you can bridge that lack of height.

“Also, football in England has changed. It’s less aerial from teams and not like back when I was playing.

“Then, I would face Peter Crouch or Niall Quinn, with teams launching long balls for Emile Heskey. Duncan Ferguson! It’s different now and so it’s not so problematic as it used to be.”

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