Erik ten Hag brought Luke Shaw off the bench in the second half in Manchester United’s win over Sheriff Tiraspol.
On the day Shaw was recalled to the England squad, this was Shaw’s first Manchester United appearance since the defeat to Brentford a month ago.
Shaw replaced Diogo Dalot for the final 21 minutes, with Tyrell Malacia switching to right-back to see out the game.
Erik ten Hag said after the game that playing Malacia at right-back is a strategy he may end up repeating through the season.
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More bad news for Wan-Bissaka
Ten Hag told The Athletic: “Sancho in preparing the goal with Bruno he was in the centre-forward position. We did some experiments this night, bringing Tyrell on the right and Luke on the left, that’s two good moves, we can be very able and we need that in the season.”
Malacia looked comfortable on the right, and it was little surprise, he has been excellent since joining the club from Feyenoord in the summer.
His form has kept Luke Shaw out of the team, but the experienced Englishman will no doubt have his say as the campaign goes on.
United’s issue is more concerning at the right-back position, where Ten Hag is quite evidently no fan of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Wan-Bissaka missed this fixture with Sheriff Tiraspol due to injury, but through the season to date, the £50 million defender has simply been overlooked.
The right-back has played just four minutes all season, and a week ago against Real Sociedad, he suffered the humiliation of watching five substitutes come on instead of him, and seeing Victor Lindelof shift out to play right-back for 45 minutes.
Wan-Bissaka is simply out of favour, with Diogo Dalot the clear first choice, but he seems to have a very thin grip of the back-up position.
Ten Hag showed last night he has another alternative thanks to Tyrell Malacia, if Luke Shaw can earn his trust to start on the left.
Malacia is a player Ten Hag is confident won’t let him down, wherever he plays. Wan-Bissaka is clearly not regarded as highly.
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