Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has already suggested that he could push Lisandro Martinez into a more advanced role if he joins the Red Devils in advance of next season. The 24-year-old is finally believed to be closing in on a summer move to Old Trafford after weeks of protracted negotiations at club level between United and Ajax.

The Dutch giants are reportedly willing to sell Martinez to United as long as their demands are met, with talks having entered into an advanced stage over the weekend. Further discussions were held at a meeting on Wednesday as United moved closer to striking a deal with Ajax, who are said to be resigned to losing their player in exchange for a transfer fee of around £46million.

Martinez is often deployed as a central defender but was also occasionally used in the middle of the park by Ten Hag during his time in charge of Ajax. The 52-year-old admitted back in 2019 that he liked what he saw from Martinez in terms of the way he performed in the club’s midfield system, which suggests that he could be poised to feature in the engine room once again at United.

“At the beginning of the season we were looking for a brain for central midfield,” said Ten Hag. “We knew Martinez had played in central midfield, but could he do it in Ajax’s system? We tried him there and we saw good things.”

Martinez is also more than capable of doing a job at left-back and his versatility is likely to come in handy at United if they finally manage to snap him up over the coming weeks and months. The club are on the lookout for a central midfielder to replace Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic ahead of next season and have been left frustrated in talks with Barcelona over a move for Frenkie de Jong, who is believed to be Ten Hag’s top target as things stand.

It remains to be seen whether Martinez would serve as an alternative option to De Jong if United end up walking away from a deal for the latter in the near future. Martinez registered 37 appearances for Ajax in all competitions over the course of last season, the majority of which he played at centre-back, but would surely be able to step into midfield if asked to do so by Ten Hag at Old Trafford next season.

The Ajax defender recently insisted that he is delighted with the way he has developed under Ten Hag, who he believes has played a major role in helping him to become a regular for Argentina at international level over the last few years.

“I am so proud of what I have achieved at Ajax and under Ten Hag,” said Martinez. “I grew as a player and became an Argentinian international thanks to my development at Ajax.

“And I even got to wear the captaincy armband for my country. That was the day my father cried, it was very emotional. My mum cried too, my uncles, aunties, cousins, everyone.”