Praise from Malacia and Antony from United teammate: ‘Ty is really nice guy’

Luke Shaw is finding he benefits from competing with Tyrell Malacia at Manchester United. The 27-year-old Englishman is full of praise for his Dutch rival, while he also enjoys duelling with Antony in training.

Shaw briefly lost his starting place after Malacia’s arrival, but is currently preferred again by manager Erik ten Hag. “It’s about staying fit and keeping that high level consistently,” the left-back explained to Manchester United TV. “Tyrell has also played very well, and I think that’s very good for the manager to have competition in different positions. We are both performing at a good level.”

The competition is not at the expense of their mutual bond. “I really like Ty,” Shaw states. “I sit next to him in the dressing room and he is a really nice guy and an extremely good player. He’s still very young and we get on well together and for both of us it’s nice to get on well with someone in your position. That really helps because when he plays, I want him to do the best for the team and I know he feels the same about me.”

Shaw often faces another former Eredivisie player at training with Antony. “We fight nice duels at training. And it’s really good to be able to train against someone of such high quality. Match after match he is getting better and better, and in the game against Newcastle he was Man of the Match for me.”

“He exudes a lot of self-confidence,” Shaw continued about the Brazilian former Ajax player. “He passes players, cuts inside, creates chances and scores goals. He is doing very well and we know we can expect more, but he is on the right track.”