Mail: Man Utd to kickstart 2027 rebuild by activating player’s 12-month option before selling him

Manchester United have made plans to part ways with Lisandro Martinez in the summer of 2027.

MailSport claims that United’s defensive rebuild at the end of the season will ‘signal the end’ of the centre-half’s Old Trafford career.

Lisandro Martinez: The state of play

If that does indeed prove to be the case, it will see the Argentine’s tenure come to an end after five years.

During that time, he will not have overseen a single campaign injury-free.

With Martinez ruled out of tonight’s clash with Como, it’ll take his tally up to a whopping 90 games missed across all competitions for the club, which has also seen him limited to just 118 appearances in that time.

When at his best, there is no disputing that the 28-year-old is a formidable figure to have at the back, but he is simply far too unreliable for a manager to depend upon throughout the course of a term.

Why are United wanting to sell Martinez?

Yet, it’s naive to think his torrid injury record is the main reason INEOS want to offload Martinez.

His outburst in Madrid last week, during which he directly called out the board and Director of Football Jason Wilcox for their lack of investment, will have swayed their decision-making when mulling over his future.

It’s thought that they will activate the 12-month option in his contract, as it’s currently due to expire in June 2027, before transfer-listing him and seeing what bids arrive.

That way, United will ensure they get at least some fee for a player they shelled out £48.3 million for.

Reports have suggested that Martinez was eyeing a move to Atletico Madrid before 2026/2027 got underway so that he could follow his close friend and compatriot Cristian Romero to the Spanish giants, and they would still be his first choice when the window reopens.