Tyrell Malacia sends Luke Shaw firm warning over place in Erik ten Hag's XI

Tyrell Malacia has warned Luke Shaw he is determined to take his place as Manchester United's first-choice left-back.

Malacia became Erik ten Hag's first signing as United boss when he made his £12.9million move from Feyenoord, rising to £14.6m with add-ons. Dutch defender Malacia made his United debut in the second-half of United's 4-0 win over arch rivals Liverpool in Bangkok in the opening game of their pre-season tour.

Malacia impressed in the emphatic win after replacing Shaw at half-time, and said he had not joined United simply to be back-up to the England international. Asked if he felt he could challenge Shaw for the left-back slot, Malacia said: "Of course, it's everybody's aim. You always want to play, so you have to work hard for it.

"There are some good left-backs here - Alex Telles, Brandon Williams, Luke, me - so you have to work hard and prove ourselves in training and in the end the coach will make a decision. I'm happy that I made my debut and that we got the win. I already feel like I'm home, everyone has made me feel like I'm home already, so I'm happy to be here. Of course it's a big difference, but I wanted this all my life, I worked hard for it, so I have to work harder now."

Ten Hag described Malacia, 22, as a modern full-back, adept at defending but capable of pushing forward and ostensibly playing as a winger at times. Malacia agreed with his manager's assessment and said his offensive qualities are one of the main reasons why ten Hag brought him to United.

"Of course I like to attack and I think that's one of the reasons why he brought me here, so I have to prove to everyone why I'm here," said Malacia. "My defending is good, also attacking, I have a good spirit, my technique is good, so I'm looking forward to playing.

"The coach has a system. He wants me to play like this, and that's something we speak about. He wants to attack with the left-back and right-back, so that's what he wants. For everybody it's a new season, a fresh start, a new coach, so we will do everything to improve ourselves and do better than last season.

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"You always want to win games, especially against Liverpool, but in the end these games are to get fit, so it's another plus to win. We didn't speak much with the coach afterwards, when we head to Australia (where United landed on Wednesday) we will sit down and analyse it."

Malacia revealed he spoke with his ex-Feyenoord team-mate Robin van Persie, about the striker's time at United, before joining the club himself. "I spoke with him about United and his time in the Premier League," said Malacia. "He had some great memories, some good stories, so it's always good, positive."