Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has already told Tyrell Malacia how to prove Paul Scholes wrong

After an impressive start to his Manchester United career, Tyrell Malacia is going through his most difficult period yet. The Dutch defender, who was Erik ten Hag's first signing at Old Trafford, has been replaced at half-time on two occasions in recent weeks, and, for now, appears to have fallen back behind Luke Shaw in the pecking order.

The 23-year-old has made 11 appearances for the Reds since his summer switch from Feyenoord, but was taken off at the interval in last week's clash against Omonia Nicosia and also in the 6-3 derby defeat by Manchester City after abject displays at full-back.

Malacia was an unused substitute in the 2-1 victory over Everton on Sunday night - the first time that the defender has been dropped since starting the 4-0 defeat to Brentford on the bench. He was certainly not the only one who was underwhelming at the Etihad, but the young Dutchman did struggle against the reigning champions.

ALSO READ: Erik ten Hag issues demand to Man United defenders and midfielders

While Malacia has featured frequently for the Reds, Shaw, on the other hand, has needed to be patient so far this term. The 27-year-old, who has only started on three occasions, started the first two matches of the campaign, but dropped as United went on an impressive winning run.

However, the defeat by City led Ten Hag to make changes for the clash at Goodison Park last week - and Shaw for Malacia was one of those. The England defender - who scored for the Three Lions against Germany in the recent international break - replaced the Dutchman against Omonia Nicosia on Thursday night, which sparked debate around who was now the club's first-choice left-back.

Following the narrow 1-0 victory over Omonia, United legend Scholes