Lisandro Martinez to Man Utd: Who are the Premier League's shortest centre-backs? | OneFootball

Keen to strengthen their defensive line after a disappointing 2021/22 campaign, Manchester United are reported to have tabled a £43 million bid for Ajax centre-back Lisandro Martinez.

The 24-year-old Argentine defender has been a key man over the past three seasons for the Dutch champions under new United boss Erik ten Hag – and now appears set for a move to the Premier League.

A cultured, ball-playing defender, Martinez is seen as the solution to United’s woes at the back, despite only being five-foot nine-inches tall (175cm).

Should he complete his switch to Old Trafford, that would make Martinez the smallest centre-back in the Premier League by a distance.

In theory, that’s far from an ideal statistic given that the ‘big number nine’-type striker is very much back in fashion.

Among the frontmen that could tower over Martinez in the English top-flight next season include Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Bournemouth’s Kiefer Moore, Newcastle’s Chris Wood and Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez to name a few.

Quiz: Can you guess the player from their Wikipedia career path?

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Who is this Ajax legend?

Toby Alderweireld Edgar Davids Rafael van der Vaart Steven Pienaar

Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel recently, former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand questioned whether Martinez’s lack of height would hamper him in the Premier League.

“[Darwin] Nunez and [Erling] Haaland have just gone into the big teams at Liverpool and Man City. They are over six foot; he is going to have to deal with people like that on a regular basis,” Ferdinand began, per the Daily Mail.

“Chris Wood at Newcastle, these are big, big guys, you can go through the league and find players of this ilk. Will he be able to deal with people like that because physically, he’s on the smaller side for a centre half.”

We already know that Martinez will become the smallest centre-back in the competition if he swaps the Eredivisie for the Premier League, but just who are least-lofty central defenders in the English top-flight right now.

To find the answer, we’ve taken to the ever-dependable Transfermarkt to identify the 10 shortest centre-backs in the Premier League at present.

To qualify, players must have competed in at least one top-flight game last season – which rules out Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu, who stands six foot tall.

Check out the list in full below.

Who are the smallest centre-backs in the Premier League?

10. Nathan Ferguson (Crystal Palace)

Height: 6 foot and 0 inches (184cm)

9. Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham)

8. Ben Godfrey (Everton)

7. Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)

6. Malang Sarr (Chelsea)

Height: 5 foot and 11 inches (182cm)

5. Calum Chambers (Aston Villa)

Height: 5 foot and 11 inches (182cm)

4. Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)

3. Thiago Silva (Chelsea)

Height: 5 foot and 11 inches (181cm)

2. Nathan Ake (Manchester City)

Height: 5 foot and 10 inches (180cm)

1. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Height: 5 foot and 10 inches (178cm)

Having filled in on 12 occasions at the heart of the Chelsea defence last season, Azpilicueta technically qualifies as the shortest centre-back in the Premier League.

Even as something of a stop-gap, though, the Spaniard is still a full inch taller than Martinez – which can count for a lot when competing for the ball in the air.

A perceived lack of height hasn’t stopped Man City’s Ake from getting his hands on the Premier League trophy twice in the last two seasons, while Chelsea veteran Thiago Silva continues to defy time as he continually impresses for the Blues, despite his diminutive stature.

Fourth-shortest centre-back Guehi also had a fine season last term, making his England debut off the back of some fine form for Crystal Palace.

Height, then, isn’t necessarily a deciding factor behind success in the Premier League.

Channeling the likes of Fabio Cannavaro and Javier Mascherano (who were both a similar height to Martinez), the Ajax man has worked tirelessly to develop his ability in the air.

In fact, per Sofascore, Martinez managed to win 79 aerial duels in the Eredivisie last season, compared with United captain Harry Maguire’s 75 in the Premier League.

Of course, the standard of competition is generally accepted to be greater in the English top-flight, but that number still shows that Martinez won’t be easily bullied.

Ultimately, Ten Hag clearly believes that Martinez can improve United as a defensive unit and, coming off their worse campaign in Premier League history, that’s something the club desperately requires.