Tyrell Malacia is confident he can become Manchester United’s first-choice left-back under Erik ten Hag. Malacia, 22, became Ten Hag’s first signing in a £14.6million move from Feyenoord earlier this month and came on for his first appearance as a second-half substitute in United’s 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday night. Luke Shaw started at left-back but Malacia has already leapfrogged Alex Telles, who played as an auxiliary centre-back in the second-half.
Tyrell Malacia said: “Of course, always. There are some good left-backs here: Telles, Brandon (Williams), Luke, me. So you have to work hard and prove ourselves in training and in the end the coach will make a decision. Of course, it’s everybody’s aim (to be first choice). You always want to play, so you have to work hard for it. I like to attack, I think that’s one of the reasons why [Ten Hag] brought me here, so I have to prove to everyone why I’m here. He wants to attack with the left-back and right-back, so that’s what he wants. He has a system and he wants me to play like this, and that’s something we speak about. I’m happy that I made my debut and that we got the win. I already feel like I’m home. They made me feel like I’m home already, so I’m happy to be here. You always want to win games, especially against Liverpool. But in the end, these games are to get fit, so it’s another plus. We didn’t speak much (after the game), we head to Australia we will sit down and analyse it. It’s a big difference (from the Eredivisie). I wanted this all my life, I worked hard for it, so I have to work harder now.”
Malacia played under Van Gaal against Wales twice last month and did not consult the former United manager on joining the club but believes he can remain in the Netherlands squad amid the competition at United. Malacia did speak with Robin van Persie, now the Feyenoord assistant manager, about joining United. On Van Gaal,
Tyrell Malacia said: “No, I didn’t speak to him. In the end, the coach will make the decision, so we will see. I spoke with [Van Persie] about United and his time in the Premier League, some great memories, some good stories, so it’s always good, positive.”
