The majority of Manchester United fans probably would not have predicted that a left back with relatively little playing experience would be the first player signed by Erik ten Hag's regime.
But such was the speed with which United moved to intercept Tyrell Malacia's proposed move from Feyenoord to Lyon, that the Dutchman was the first through the doors at Carrington this summer. This was due to the fact that United moved so quickly to make their move. When United's fans were busy debating what areas of the squad they wanted to see strengthened prior to the start of this season, the idea of signing a new left-back was not a leading priority on the wish lists that were compiled by them. This was because the idea of signing a new left-back was not a priority on the list.
Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Brandon Williams, who had returned from a loan spell at Norwich City, and Alvaro Fernandez, a youngster, were all available to United, allowing them to have an abundance of options in that area of the squad. Malacia, on the other hand, had captured Ten Hag's attention in the Netherlands, and when he was presented with the opportunity to bring him to Old Trafford, he was unable to pass it up.
United moved at a breakneck pace to finalize a deal, and they made him their first signing of what would turn out to be a record-breaking window for signing players. In retrospect, almost four months after Malacia's arrival in M16, it was a prudent choice; he has been excellent for the most part, displaying a great deal of promise and encouragement, and giving Shaw the motivation he required to get the job done.
Since Shaw, along with many other members of the team, significantly fell short of expectations during the previous campaign, the acquisition of Malacia, as surprising as it may have been, made perfect sense. He needed some level of competition, even though Manchester United signed Luke Shaw with the intention of keeping Shaw as their starting left back after they signed the latter.
After a terrible first half performance in a 4-0 thrashing at Brentford, the England international was replaced by Malacia for the following match against Liverpool. Malacia was given the nod because of the England international's poor performance. After United's victory in that match, Malacia did not lose his position on the team.
However, as a result of his inability to deal with Phil Foden during the first half of the derby day loss to Manchester City at the beginning of October, he was taken out of the game at halftime, and he has not played a single minute in the Premier League since then. This opened the door for Shaw to come back and attempt to reclaim the left back position as his own. Shaw has not played a single minute in the Premier League since then.
The former Southampton player has started each of the last five league games for United, hardly putting a foot wrong in the process, helping United earn three clean sheets in those five games, and assisting Casemiro on his dramatic equalizer against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The clean sheets and the assist have been the highlight acts of Shaw's recent performances, but his overall showings have been about much more; he has been key in United's build-up play, being progressive with the ball, taking up good attacking positions on the left, such is Ten Hag's desire to see his full-backs get into advanced areas of the pitch, and has been mostly solid defensively. While the clean sheets and the assist have been the headline acts of Shaw's recent performances, his overall showings have been.
However, the current form of Shaw shouldn't come as much of a shock to anyone. When you consider that his best season in a United shirt to date came in 2020/21, following the signing of Telles from Porto, it suggests that he thrives when someone is snapping at his heels to pounce on any mistakes and claim his position in the team. This is supported by the fact that his best season in a United shirt to date came in 2020/21.
Shaw has benefited from the high level of competition that Malacia has provided because it has helped him get closer to his previous best. And the latter just recently brought attention to how important it is to have someone to compete with in order to earn the right to start every week.
He stated, "Tyrell has obviously been playing as well and playing really well, and I think that it's really good for the manager to have competition in different positions, and both of us performing at a good level." Tyrell has been playing as well as he has obviously been playing, and he has been playing really well.
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