Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez, who won the World Cup with Argentina earlier this month, has returned to the club after celebrating La Albiceleste’s victory in Buenos Aires.

Lisandro Martinez has returned to Manchester United, less than a week after Erik ten Hag warned the defender that he would be back at Old Trafford following his World Cup victory.

Martinez, 24, was part of the Argentina squad that dethroned France in a drаmаtic penalty shootout in the World Cup final just under two weeks ago and has been celebrating in his homeland ever since.

But the former Ajax man has now returned to Manchester – and it has emerged that Martinez chose to skip the wedding of close friend and international teammate Nicolas Tagliafico, which took place in Argentina, in order to return to Manchester earlier this week in order to make himself available for the club’s stacked festive fixture list.

Martinez is hoping to play against Wolves on New Year’s Eve, according to The Daily Mail.

Martinez’s return comes just a few days after Ten Hag hinted that the centre-back would have to stop celebrating in order to focus on the rest of the Premier League season.

“[Martinez] has been celebrating in Buenos Aires, and I understand that,” the Dutchman said last week. It’s the best you can do. However, Lisandro Martinez must accept that the Premier League will continue on the 27th.”

Martinez has made a significant impact at Old Trafford since joining from Ajax for £55 million in the summer.

Despite initial concerns about his height, Martinez has firmly established himself as one of United’s first-choice defenders, replacing club captain Harry Maguire, and has played a key role in their rise up the table before the World Cup break.

It’s unclear when Martinez will return to the squad after flying back to Manchester from Argentina; however, Ten Hag could speed things up after Maguire and Victor Lindelof were ruled out of the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night due to a ᴠirus. Maguire did come on as a late substitute.

Raphael Varane, who also played in the final for France but had a shorter recovery time than Martinez, stepped up to make an earlier than expected return alongside Luke Shaw, who deputised as a left-sided centre-back.

After the game, Ten Hag was full of praise for Varane. “Rapha, I think he shows once again his great personality, the great standards he is giving Manchester United by returning from the World Cup,” he said. We had a problem in the center-half position, and he is taking responsibility to play, and he performed admirably. He was crucial to our team yet again.”

Joao Felix snubs Man Utd when asked which PL team he supports

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Joao Felix have been dealt a blоw after it was rеvеalеd that the attacker supports one of their Premier League rιvals.

Felix is free to leave Atletico Madrid during the January transfer window, and a loan deal is becoming increasingly probable. In the first half of the season, he has failed to live up to his hefty price tag at Atletico, as his playing time has steadily decreased.

The 23-year-old was included in Portugal’s World Cup roster, and he started four of Portugal’s five games at the tournament. Despite his outstanding performances for his country, he appears to be leaving the Wanda Metropolitano, at least temporarily.

As Erik ten Hag seeks to bolster his attacking options, it is believed that Manchester United is among the frontrunners to sign him. The Red Devils released Cristiano Ronaldo from his contract last month, creating a vacancy for an attacking player.

Felix is one of their top targets, but they may face an ᴜnexpected roadblock if they wish to sign him. The attacker rеvеalеd to Adri Contreras last month that he supports Leeds United.

The Whites are United’s traditional rιval, and animosity runs between the two clubs. If Felix were to sign with them, it would be a setback for the Red Devils, who are seeking an attacker in January.