Tyrell Malacia is one of the names that has been on every Manchester United fan’s lips since his arrival at the club.
Initially tipped to join French club Lyon from Feyenoord, United moved rapidly at the last minute, following an Erik ten Hag directive to secure his signing. What a signing he has been so far!
The young defender has been steadily winning fans over, who have fallen in love with his passion, aggression, and masterful defending. So impactful has Malacia been that he has dethroned Luke Shaw as starting left-back.
The player’s personal trainer, Jordan Kroon, attributes his client and friend’s success in England to his work ethic, determination to always improve, and his humility.
Speaking exclusively to UtdDistrict, Kroon remarked, “Tyrell started working with me in corona season. He was looking for something to develop his skill set and his strength and conditioning and his mental game.”
“At that moment, he was the third left back for Feyenoord, so he was not playing at all, so he needed to develop his game and that was the main reason he started working with me.”
Since Malacia’s move, Kroon said they have adapted his training. He regularly sends the player his programmes and ensures they communicate on a daily basis.
On Malacia’s attitude, the trainer noted “He’s just doing his thing over there and he is a boy who’s always looking to become better and make the next steps. He is always working more than the manager [has] asked.”
“Most of the time, he’s the last player at the Manchester United training field who’s leaving and in the dressing room who’s leaving. Most of the time at the end of the day, he calls me and films the dressing room, and everybody is already gone. So that’s a good thing.”
Kroon described the 23-year-old as someone who is not really social. He said the player was not into social media or going out to social events as is the norm with many other footballers.
“He is really a guy who is really focussed and who’s really looking forward to every game and who is looking forward to developing his game and he’s always thinking: ‘How can I become better? Where can I do things better? How am I going to spend tomorrow? When is the next training?”
On being asked what they have been working on to improve in Malacia’s game, Kroon highlighted explosiveness, physical strength, and mental fortitude.
This was evident in the Dutchman’s recent showings in the way he handled Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka, two different but pacy and extremely skillful wingers. Malacia shut both down and limited them to scraps. Fans undoubtedly know they have a gem on their hands in Malacia.
