Injuries and expiring terms leave the Argentine’s Old Trafford legacy at a crossroads. United must weigh his elite technical quality against persistent fitness concerns before committing to new terms.
Would you keep Lisandro Martinez
With Champions League qualification for next season wrapped up, Manchester United will want to cement their third-place finish in the final two games against Nottingham Forest and Brighton.
Michael Carrick's side needs just one point to confirm third place. This would be the club's highest position since the 2022/23 season, where they also finished third.
A key figure on that side under Erik Ten Hag was Lisandro Martinez, who has had a nightmare run of injuries since then, only reaching 20 league appearences one since then.
However, despite the fitness concerns, he remains an integral part of the side, with the club only losing once this season when he has started. As he enters the final year of his contract, it is unsurprising to see reports regarding his future.
Availability is the best ability
No one can doubt the technical quality that Martinez possesses. When he plays, he is invaluable to how United want to play out from the back and to how press-resistant he is. Not to mention, the high defensive IQ that he has, which negates his lack of size.
However, it's those constant availability concerns that have often been labelled at Luke Shaw until this season that constantly surround him.
Speaking to the Talk of the Devils podcast, Andy Mitten revealed information on where United are at with his situation as his contract enters the final year.
"I think Martinez needs to be playing all the time... It's like, 'Oh, you want a new contract? Well first of all, you need to be playing, and you need to be playing well. I think Martinez's position is in a little bit of a state of flux at Manchester United.
"At one point on Saturday I said that nobody passes through the lines from United's defence better than Martinez does. On his day, he's absolutely quality."
He is consitently praised by his peers about his quality as a leader and how integral he is on the pitch, and in training by keeping the standards high.
Mitten said: "He's a huge figure in the dressing room. There's been times early on under Michael Carrick that he was Manchester United's captain. But he needs to be playing.
"He needs to be playing all of the time. If he's thinking, 'Is my future going to be here? Do I need a new contract', you wouldn't give him one."
Need to choose between him and De Ligt
In an ideal world, United would not have any injury-prone defenders. However, the club face the conundrum of both Matthijs De Ligt and Martinez being players who consistently spend long spells out injured.
While last season the Dutchman was not plagued by injuries, this season he has been out since December due to a back injury that at the time was seen as "minor".
When fit, they both are arguably starters and compete with Maguire; however, with the lack of assurances on their fitness, the likes of Ayden Heaven, Leny Yoro and even Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazaroui have had minutes at centre-back.
As ruthless as it may be, it might be that United pick one of the two former Ajax men and bring in another centre-back who will offer more stability in terms of availability.