The international break will be a bittersweet time for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United because they were gathering momentum but at the cost of squad players.
Injuries were taking an axe to the Man Utd squad so Ruben Amorim will be thankful for getting these two weeks to get some players back.
The player who he’s not getting back anytime soon, and has probably played his last game for the club, is Tyrell Malacia, the left-back on loan at PSV now.
Malacia, in many ways, personified Erik ten Hag’s transfer philosophy, but he almost didn’t become a United player.
The player who could have signed in his place is the one Man Utd are set to take on in their most important game of the season after the break.
Erik ten Hag’s transfer choice at Man Utd
It became almost a running one by the end of his tenure because Ten Hag’s inclination towards buying players he had managed previously was almost becoming comical.
When he arrived at Old Trafford, Ajax player were naturally linked to Man Utd and two of them did arrive in his very first season – Lisandro Martinez and Antony.
There was almost a third, a star Ten Hag namechecked in his departing message as someone who he was “extremely grateful” for, but United signed Tyrell Malacia instead.
Now at Lyon, Nicolas Tagliafico will be hoping to end Amorim’s hopes of silverware this season by knocking out Man Utd from the Europa League.
The Argentine left-back was one of the stars of the famed Ajax team under Ten Hag which thrilled Europe and made the manager one of the hottest names in the market.
Nicolas Tagliafico would’ve been better in hindsight
At the time, it made sense that Tagliafico didn’t become one of the Ajax players who signed for Man Utd because he was already 29.
Malacia, on the other hand, was just 23 and a more natural backup, with the potential to be a successor to Luke Shaw at Old Trafford.
However, it sums up United’s luck that even when they made the correct decision at the time, it has aged terribly as a transfer with the benefit of hindsight.
Tagliafico joined Lyon in the same summer as Malacia joined United and in the three years since, has maintained his levels of performance as one of the mainstays of the team.
He’s played more than 2000 league minutes the last two seasons and despite turning 33 this year, has already managed five goals contributions in 17 league games.
It must be stressed that the scrutiny at United is entirely different so stats can’t be translated 100% but what happened to Malacia makes Tagliafico a plus over him just by virtue of being available.
Now United have neither and face the prospect of the player they avoided trying to end their season.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
