Feyenoord captain Orkun Kokcu has spoken of his pride in former teammate Tyrell Malacia following the defender's transfer to Manchester United.
The 23-year-old could make his European bow for the Reds when they welcome Real Sociedad to Old Trafford in their Europa League opener. Malacia has played in all six games this season and has emerged as a standout player.
The Dutchman is keeping Luke Shaw out of the side having claimed three clean sheets so far, one of which came after his half-time substitution in the 4-0 defeat to Brentford. He became Erik ten Hag’s first signing as United boss, arriving for £12.9m.
READ MORE: Malacia lifts lid on Shaw competition
Speaking ahead of the clash, Turkey international Kokcu revealed he still talks to Malacia regularly over video call and said he was proud of his career progression.
“I still have daily contact with Malacia. I also just got in touch and tonight I have a FaceTime call scheduled with him, so I’m going to have a little chat with him,” he told ESPN.
“I often tell him that I am proud of him. Last year I spent every day with him. We also started training for ourselves outside the club. I saw him every day and we try to keep up with that with video calling.”
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