Ruben Amorim is reportedly set to give one of his forgotten Manchester United men a “serious chance” ahead of their Premier League clash against Sunderland.
Manchester United return to Old Trafford before the October international break as they get ready to face Sunderland for the first time since April 2017.
Rúben Amorim has endured a difficult start to the campaign, with United winning only two of their opening six Premier League matches and sitting 14th in the table, just one place higher than last season’s 15th-place finish.
Sunderland, meanwhile, have impressed on their top-flight return. Régis Le Bris’ side sit fifth in the league with 11 points from their first six games.
After a 3-1 defeat away at Brentford, pressure is mounting on Amorim to turn results around and ease growing doubts among the United supporters.
Malacia to be given genuine chance under Amorim
According to various reports, Tyrell Malacia is due to return to first-team training on Tuesday morning as Amorim prepares his squad to face Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Malacia was initially barred from training with the squad during the summer, as the club deemed him surplus to requirements. However, after failing to find a new club, he has been reintegrated into the squad.
Although some may see Malacia’s return as simply a move to try and retain some value in the player ahead of the January window, according to Dutch outlet VI, the United head coach will give Malacia a “serious chance” at a shot of returning to the first team.
Malacia been training with the club’s U21 team for the last month, and has been described as performing “off the charts” with the Academy players.
Malacia could push Dorgu at wing-back
There has been a lot of talk about United’s first-choice left wing-back, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu. Although he performed well during pre-season, his displays have come under fire over the last few weeks.
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So far this season, Dorgu has often found himself in very good attacking spaces. Still, his final execution has been inconsistent, leading to flashes of great play combined with loose touches and attacks breaking down.
Although Malacia may not be able to break into the starting XI immediately and is undoubtedly a second-choice option to Dorgu, his presence in training and hard work ethic should certainly push the Dane to improve his game.
At 20 years of age, Dorgu still has plenty of room for improvement and the time to do so, but Malacia returning to training as genuine competition will do a lot to push the former for a place in the starting lineup.
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