An argument can be made that the signings made under Erik ten Hag have set the club back years, with the investment handicapping Ruben Amorim’s ability to do the same.
Most of his signings have already been shipped off and those who aren’t are either on the chopping block or not deemed very reliable by the new Man Utd manager.
In the meantime, Erik ten Hag has come out with strong words of support for one of his signings, a player that Ruben Amorim doesn’t seem to fancy at all.
It gives a good insight into the thought process of two managers with polar opposite playing philosophies.
Erik ten Hag on Tyrell Malacia
Tyrell Malacia holds the record of being Man Utd’s first signing under Ten Hag, a low-cost, opportunistic pickup to provide cover for Luke Shaw.
Malacia surpassed expectations in his debut season, effectively playing backup to Shaw and providing competition to a place, making his fee look like a bargain.
However, a worrying injury quickly snowballed into disaster and that debut season remains his peak in a Man Utd jersey, much to the dismay of Ten Hag.
He spoke to the Dutch outlet Voetbal International recently and defended his signing of Malacia, putting things into perspective.
Ten Hag said: “Tyrell was a young and very promising footballer at the time. He had made a big impression at Feyenoord as an up-and-coming left-back and had already made it to the Dutch national team.
“With me, he was given the time to get used to the high level of United and the Premier League. He did well. Tyrell knew that he had Luke Shaw, one of the best left-backs in the world, in front of him.
“Shaw was also not able to perform at his full potential the entire season due to a serious injury so Tyrell would play a lot of matches and that turned out to be the case.
“Those are of course excellent numbers for a young player in his first season. Tyrell simply did well that first year.”
Ruben Amorim didn’t trust Malacia
Ten Hag added that he hopes the worst is behind Malacia and he can regain the form and confidence he had before his injury but Amorim just didn’t seem to trust him to do so at Old Trafford.
He was hooked off at half-time in each starting appearance he made under him and those few minutes were enough for Amorim to make his mind up, loaning him with a buy-option included.
Malacia has started well at PSV on loan, something Ten Hag recognised in this interview but there just seems to be a philosophical difference between what Amorim wants in his wing-back and what Malacia is as a player.
Even if he impresses at PSV, it is more likely than not that he’s played his last game in a Man Utd shirt regardless of Ten Hag’s endorsement of his skills.
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