Tom Heaton rubbishes concerns over Manchester United signing Lisandro Martinez

What Lisandro Martinez lacks in height he more than makes up for in mobility, physically and personality.

That's according to Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who was very impressed by the new signing during his debut against Rayo Vallecano. Erik ten Hag's side played out a 1-1 draw with the Spanish side in their final friendly of pre-season at Old Trafford on Sunday.

It was a mostly second-string side after a strong United XI fell to a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Oslo the day previous but there was the return of Cristiano Ronaldo while new arrivals Martinez and Christian Eriksen made their first starts. Martinez slotted into the back line seamlessly alongside Raphael Varane and put in an assured performance that left Heaton very excited.

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"That's been the case all week in fairness to him," the shot-stopper told MUTV when it was said that Martinez has settled in well. "I've really enjoyed playing with him today.

"I think he will be a top, top player for the club, I thought he was outstanding today and I'm sure everyone is looking forwards to watching him play this year."

Standing at just 5ft9ins, Martinez is small for a typical Premier League centre-back but Heaton has moved to dismiss any concerns over his height. He added: "I think that's probably been talked about a little bit unfairly.

"I think for what he brings, his physicality, how he uses his body, his leap and what he gives you in terms of mobility and on the ball and, you know what, personality wise I think he's going to add an awful lot to the team.

"Even this week you can see already what he brings, he brings that larger-than-life personality at the back. Controlling. As I say, I think he was