Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia will travel to Manchester on Sunday to ‘undergo the first part of medical tests‘ and sign his contract as a Manchester United player. It is expected that this could all be complete on Monday, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The player will sign a four-year contract until the summer of 2026 with the option of a further year to be added, as has been the case with the club since the summer of 2013 with all new signings and contract renewals – at least for first team players.
This is likely to be the first Erik ten Hag signing this summer, despite the pursuit of Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona, Christian Eriksen, formerly of Brentford and Lisandro Martínez of Ajax. United have a lot of business left to do this summer to have a chance of competing next season.
Malacia, 22, made 50 appearances for Feyenoord last season, scoring one goal and five assists. It is expected that Ten Hag will use him as cover for Luke Shaw, who is the number one left-back at the club but will need to get back to the form he showed during the 2020/21 season.
The Dutchman will be up for the challenge of taking on Shaw for the position and shows a lot of potential going forward, which will help the United attack by utilising the flanks more often. Olimpique Lyonnais had agreed on a fee for Malacia – with United hijacking the deal.
Malacia is described as a very strong passer of the ball and dribbler, and his holding of the ball and concentration is described as strong. Last season, he made an average of 2.5 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 1.1 clearances and 0.2 blocks in a defensive position.
Offensively, Malacia made an average of 1.5 shots per game, 1.2 key passes, 1.5 dribbles, and was dispossessed 1.4 times. This would need to be much better in the Premier League, but at 22 and coming to a club with a coach that has a hands on aspect, will be good news.
United will now have a positive defence, providing both players can compete for the position, therefore bringing the best out of each other, which is what happened with Shaw when Alex Telles was signed in the summer of 2020.
The Old Trafford club will now be seeking to get deals done to sign other players this summer but with the rumours coming out about the potential departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, it could mean that United also need to look at the attacking options once more, which could be a problem.
Written by John Walker
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