Tyrell Malacia could end up staying at Manchester United after a loan move to La Liga side Elche collapsed on transfer deadline day.
The left-back was one of five players banished from United’s first-team by Ruben Amorim at the start of the summer, alongside Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony.
Rashford has since joined Barcelona on loan while Garnacho recently completed a £40million switch to Chelsea.
Aston Villa have agreed to sign Sancho on loan on deadline day while Antony’s long-awaited return to Real Betis is set to go ahead.
But Malacia has proven more difficult to shift, with clubs wary of the 26-year-old’s fitness after he spent 17 months on the sidelines with a knee injury, only returning to the pitch at the end of last year.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it’s an open goal.
The Dutchman, Erik ten Hag’s first signing for United, spent the second-half of last season on loan at PSV, helping them win the Eredivisie title, but they opted not to trigger the buy-out clause in his contract.
After training away from United’s first-team all summer it seemed that an escape route had been found over the weekend, with Elche in advanced talks to sign him on loan.
But The Athletic have reported that the deal has fallen apart at the last minute, with the clubs and player unable to agree on the inclusion of a clause that would make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.
Any chance of the transfer being revived has been swiftly ended as Elche quickly signed Sevilla’s Adria Pedrosa on loan instead.
As a result, Malacia may only have a few hours left to find a new club with the transfer deadline at 7pm on Monday.
Malacia moved to Old Trafford from Feyenoord for £13million in 2022 and helped the Red Devils win the Carabao Cup in his debut season.
He has entered the final year of his contract but the club have the option to extend it by another 12 months.
More to follow…
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.