‘Pitbull’ target to make United top dogs again
ERIK TEN HAG wants to sign Tyrell Malacia – the Feyenoord left-back described as a “pitbull” by fans in Holland.
The incoming Manchester United manager has targeted Malacia after failing with a move to take the 22-year-old Dutch international to Ajax last summer.
Rotterdam-born Malacia is comfortable on the ball, possesses blistering pace – and has a tackle so tenacious that he has become a cult hero at the club he joined as a nineyear-old.
He was watched by a posse of scouts – including representatives from United and Lyon – as he produced an outstanding performance when Feyenoord beat Marseille 3-2 in the first leg of the Europa Conference semi-finals on Thursday.
Ten Hag was unable to sign Malacia last summer due to the huge rivalry Ajax have with Feyenoord.
But a £20million offer will tempt the Dutch club into selling to United after two financially tough years following the pandemic.
Malacia fits the profile of the kind of hungry, young player that Ten
Hag has been an expert in developing.
He has just broken into Louis van Gaal’s Holland squad and is set to go to the World Cup in Qatar next winter.
Ten Hag has already identified the full-back positions as a problem area at his new club.
Malacia will challenge Luke Shaw for his place in United’s team. Ten
Hag also wants a new right-back to replace Aaron Wan-bissaka.
But an attempt to hijack Bayern Munich’s bid to sign Noussair Mazraoui on a free from Ajax gave the Dutchman a reality check about how United’s pulling power has lost some of its potency.
United fear they will lose out on Mazraoui after failing to convince the Moroccan full-back that he could realise his ambitions in Manchester rather than Munich.
The 24-year-old is out of contract in the summer and United were prepared to offer him a more lucrative contract than Bayern.
But Mazraoui has made it clear that the promise of competing for the Bundesliga title makes the German club a more attractive proposition.
Raid
United are prepared to sell rightback Wan-bissaka just three years after paying Crystal Palace £50m for the former England Under-21 international.
The fear is that Wan-bissaka does not suit Ten Hag’s style, which relies heavily on full-backs building play from the back.
Ten Hag is ready to go Dutch in a big way after being tasked with a major rebuild at Old Trafford.
We revealed last month that he has targeted Ajax pair Jurrien
Timber and Antony.
The Amsterdam club are reluctant to do business with United after already losing their manager.
But United refused Ajax’s request to enter an agreement not to raid the Dutch club for players when they were negotiating the terms of Ten Hag’s departure.