Man Utd-bound? Ideal Antony upgrade joins Ten Hag's agency
Tom Weber
- 27 Nov 2023 13:15 CST
- 4 min read
Erik ten Hag's agency, SEG, could once again come in clutch in helping Manchester United acquire a player.
It caused quite a stir when it was revealed that SEG, the Dutch agency that represents Red Devils boss Ten Hag, is responsible for most of the transfer business at Man Utd these days, even more so since the coach's son reportedly works for the company.
Yet, accusations of nepotism and criticism of Ten Hag's transfer policy aside, SEG has just acquired a new talent and that could be good news for Man Utd. Donyell Malen has joined the Dutch agency and, while there are so far no suggestions that the Red Devils are looking at the Borussia Dortmund attacker, the SEG connection could change all that.
Throughout his career, Malen has primarily played as a right-winger, though he can also feature on the left and at centre-forward. That versatility makes him a useful asset to have, and when on form, the 24-year-old can be an unstoppable force.
Malen to Man Utd?
There is a decent argument to be made that Man Utd should look at Ten Hag's compatriot. A product of the Ajax (before Ten Hag's time) and PSV youth systems, Malen earned Europe-wide notoriety with his exploits for the latter, eventually being snapped up by Dortmund for a - by Bundesliga standards - whopping €30 million.
It's fair to say that Malen hasn't quite lit up the German league as he previously did the Eredivisie. The winger has struggled for consistency and his goalscoring exploits have left a lot to be desired. This term, he has five goals and two assists in 17 games across all competitions, taking his all-time Dortmund record to 24 goals and 16 assists in 90 outings.
Nevertheless, Malen is a player with immense technical ability, the physical attributes to be a threat and, when full of confidence, enough composure in front of the net to get his goals. His main issue at Dortmund has been his lack of consistency, perhaps caused by him often having to deputise centrally.
That's a worry, but he has already shown United what he can do, netting a brace against Ten Hag's men in pre-season. Moreover, with Jadon Sancho on the way out and Antony severely underwhelming, Man Utd would do well to add another right-winger in January.
According to data experts SciSports, Malen would be Man Utd's third-best player in terms of his overall ability, and while we must say that this is a quite generous assessment of his skills, there is no denying that he could be a useful player for Ten Hag. SciSports rate Malen much higher than Antony and even deem his room to improve to be much greater than the 23-year-old Brazilian's.
While his transfer value of €35m could be an issue - BVB would likely demand significantly more - there is a crazy scenario where Dortmund could be tempted into a swap deal with Sancho. The Black and Yellow are interested in bringing him back but a straightforward permanent signing or even loan is impossible given United's demands and his wage - but a swap deal could be an intriguing solution.
