FORMER Manchester United captain Roy Keane has lauded Lisandro Martinez and singled out one quality that saw him become a legend at Old Trafford.
The defender has been one of the many success stories under Erik ten Hag and put in a man of the match display to help the Red Devils win 3-0 at Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes scored the goals, but Martinez's defensive performance also played a key role in putting the Red Devils on course to reach their first domestic cup final since 2018.
And Keane has been thrilled with Martinez's form.
He told Sky Sports: "Obviously the manager has worked with him, so we talk about that character, that desire, we've seen already the benefits of having that at the club over the last few months.
"He wants to defend and he looks the right character – the kind of lad you want to be in the trenches with.
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"We saw tonight, United got a goal towards the end but he still wants to defend.
"It's important to score the three goals but from a defender’s point of view he'll be delighted with a clean sheet."
Martinez, who arrived at Old Trafford for £55m in the summer, has formed an impressive partnership with Raphael Varane and has already played 28 games for United.
He endured a testing start to his Prem career and was questioned for his 5ft 9 stature following the defeats to Brighton and Brentford.
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But Martinez has dusted himself down to emerge as one of Ten Hag's most consistent performers, which has quickly seen him become a fan-favourite.
Keane added: "He's an excellent player, comes across as a really good character, gives them good balance.
"We talk about modern defenders and how good they have to be on the ball, but he looks as if his priority is defending.
"When he does get on the ball he's neat and tidy. As we've seen, he can see a pass, but he's got pride in his defending which is great to see.
"Because again, a lot of the time with modern defenders it's about what they do in possession, but he wants to defend and he's got real pride in it."
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