Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has leapt to the defence of Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez, claiming critics of his physique are 'talking absolute rubbish'.
Questions were asked of the 5'9 centre-back when he joined from Ajax in the summer and the critics stepped up their volume as Martinez struggled to deal with Brentford's physicality during United's infamous 4-0 defeat earlier this season, during which he was replaced at half-time.
Since then, however, Martinez has responded superbly and has been among the top performers in the Premier League, although questions about his ability and physique have persisted.
"People talking about Lisandro Martínez and his height are talking absolute rubbish," Van Dijk told Gary Neville on The Overlap.
"It can help as a centre-back if you're a bit taller, but what he's done since coming to the Premier League, has been good. He's a good signing for Manchester United, he's good on the ball, he's very passionate, so I can only speak positively about him.
"I have respect for what he's achieved so far, and I hope he does well at United, but that he doesn't get successful there with winning trophies!
"In England, everyone loves criticising players about everything, but that's fine because you can't change it. Lisandro has shown many good performances already, and he shouldn't think about the outside noise around him."
The 24-year-old, who also worked previously with United boss Ten Hag at Ajax, has already made 18 appearances for United so far this season, starting every Premier League game and only failing to start once in the Europa League.
Source : 90min
