Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 7:01 PM• Wessel Antes • Last update: 19:08

Tyrell Malacia is proud that he is increasingly compared to Patrice Evra in England. That says the left back of Manchester United in an interview on the club website. The comparison between Evra and Malacia was already made on social media in preparation for the current season, but recently club legend Rio Ferdinand also made it in his own football podcast. Malacia has an insanely good start in the Premier League and already seems to be an integral part of Erik ten Hag’s starting eleven.

Ferdinand recently praised the 23-year-old Rotterdammer. “He is calm, physically strong and athletic. He reminds me of Patrice Evra in several ways. There haven’t been many left-backs who have been able to keep Mohamed Salah out of the game in the past five years,” the England analyst said in his football podcast. Vibe With FIVE. Malacia got the first chance from Ten Hag against Liverpool (2-1 win) and made impressive use of it.

Malacia herself was not yet aware of the comparison, but clearly enjoys Ferdinand’s words. “I hadn’t heard it yet, because I don’t monitor the media. But it’s a big compliment. I am honored to receive that compliment from him.” After the match against Liverpool, Malacia received earlier on Sky Sports already beautiful words from United legend Gary Neville. “Malacia was brilliant tonight. If you can defend like that against Salah all evening, that’s excellent. He’s got something, that boy.”

At United, Malacia is currently preferred over renowned England international Luke Shaw. Still, the Dutchman is happy that Shaw is still present in Manchester. “It’s good that we compete, because you keep each other sharp. You have to perform well every training and every game, otherwise the trainer can make a different decision. That is good for the team.” Next Thursday, United will face Real Sociedad in the first round of the Europa League at 9 p.m.