“It is a shame for him”: Ten Hag opens up on why unlucky United star could not fulfill his potential at Old Trafford

Manchester United finally decided to move Tyrell Malacia on during the January transfer window after his underwhelming performances under Ruben Amorim.

Below-par displays were expected given the Dutchman missed over 500 days of action after a knee surgery but following Patrick Dorgu’s arrival, the head coach would be unable to provide the 25-year-old with regular minutes.

Hence, the left-back ended up joining PSV Eindhoven on loan with the Eredivisie side having the option of making the loan deal permanent in the summer.

There was interest from Spain, Scotland, Portugal and even from within the Premier League but Malacia decided to head back home in order to restart his footballing career.

EtH on Malacia signing

Former United manager Erik ten Hag had brought him to the club as his first-ever signing and after a successful debut season, Malacia’s injury curse struck, something the former manager empathised with.

In an interview with Voetbal International, Ten Hag initially spoke about why he went ahead and agreed to make the former Feyenoord star his first United signing.

“Tyrell was a young and very promising footballer at the time. He had made a big impression at Feyenoord as an up-and-coming left back and had already made it to the Dutch national team. With me, he was given the time to get used to the high level of United and the Premier League. He did well.

“Tyrell knew that he had Luke Shaw, one of the best left backs in the world, in front of him. But Shaw was also not able to perform at his full potential the entire season due to the serious injury he had sustained in the duel with PSV. So Tyrell would play a lot of matches and that turned out to be the case.”

“Tyrell simply did well that first year. It is a shame for him and also for United that it went wrong afterwards and that two operations were needed instead of one. Hopefully all the misery is now behind him and he can focus on getting fully fit again and playing matches.”

How Malacia can improve

The former Ajax boss also offered words of advice to his former player on how he can recapture his best form in Eindhoven.

“It is especially important that Tyrell continues to make the right choices. In the attacking game that Peter Bosz wants to play, he must be able to make good use of his qualities. Tyrell is a back who is good in the build-up if he can play inverted; if he comes on the inside. He is good on the ball and can handle himself well in small spaces.

“These are all things that he needs in PSV football. A bit like Dest also plays. He can come up and then go over them at speed on the outside, but he lacks a bit of real power, substance and a good final pass for that.”

Hopefully, Malacia can kick on and prove his worth again. As for Ten Hag, the former United boss remains without a job even though new links keep popping up.

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