Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia has said that he is “honoured” to be compared to Patrice Evra by legendary Red Devils centre-back Rio Ferdinand.
The young Dutchman has enjoyed an extremely bright start to life at Old Trafford since his s ummer arrival from Dutch outfit Feyenoord. He has been key to the Red Devils’ run of four consecutive wins, with former United defender Ferdinand having been full of praise for the 23-year-old - so much so that he has compared him to legendary left-back Evra.
Speaking immediately after the Red Devils finally got their season underway with their victory over Liverpool, Ferdinand said: “He [Malacia] reminds me of Patrice Evra in many ways.
“He’s athletic, he looks like a pound-for-pound strong kid. There aren’t many left-backs in European or world football in the last four or five years who have gone out of a game and kept Mohamed Salah quiet.”
Since that game, Malacia has continued his impressive form having played every single minute of United’s winning run under Erik ten Hag. He has now responded to Ferdinand’s complimentary comments.
Speaking to United’s official website, he said: “It’s the first time hearing it, because I don’t watch the media. So for me it is the first time I’m hearing this but it’s a big compliment. I’m honoured to get this compliment from him, yeah.”
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Whilst Malacia has no doubt been key for the Red Devils over their recent run, another star performer has also been Lisandro Martinez - the Argentinian centre-back having enjoyed a stellar few weeks despite a nightmare start to life at Old Trafford.
Having now played both against Martinez during his time in the Eredivisie and now with him as a teammate, Malacia has given his verdict on the centre-back’s role in the team.
He continued: “Yeah, we speak a lot with each other about football and he’s [Martinez] a good guy. He’s a great defender and gives us good energy. You saw that in the game against Liverpool also, so yeah I love to work with him.”
Despite United’s excellent run, boss Ten Hag could be set to make a few alterations to his defence. The Red Devils pause their Premier League commitments for the time being as they prepare to open up their Europa League campaign against Spanish side Real Sociedad.
Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire could all be in contention to play in the game should Ten Hag be tempted to switch his side up. In the meantime, both Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo could potentially be drafted into the starting line-up having racked up an incredible record between them against Sociedad during their times with Real Madrid.
