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Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia has suffered a transfer blow just hours after saying goodbye to his teammates at Old Trafford.
Malacia, who completed a £15m move to United in 2022, looked set to join Portuguese side Benfica on loan for the rest of the season.
But the Daily Mail say the deal has fallen through, despite Malacia already bidding farewell to his Manchester United teammates.
Benfica were keen to secure a deal for the Netherlands international but failed to agree terms with the Premier League giants over a loan fee and buy option.
Ruben Amorim had sanctioned Malacia’s departure after offering the 25-year-old limited game-time since he replaced Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford hot-seat.
Malacia was linked with Real Betis – who also signed Antony earlier in the window – before Benfica jumped to the front of the queue.
But the transfer setback has given Betis renewed hope of signing Malacia, who has also been linked with Scottish champions Celtic.
Celtic had hoped to sign their former player Kieran Tierney from Arsenal but the Gunners have reportedly blocked the Scotland international from leaving until the summer.
Malacia has only made 47 appearances for Manchester United since his £15m move from Feyenoord, struggling with injuries since arriving at the Theatre of Dreams.
He made 39 appearances during his first season under Ten Hag but did not play a single minute last year and has played just three league games so far this season.
Earlier in the month, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand named Malacia as one of three players his former club should offload before the transfer deadline.
Asked about the future of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Malacia, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: ‘I think Antony is going. Someone told me he was going to Real Betis or somewhere like that.
‘Get them out man! Sorry, I’m just being honest. The more those guys are around… there’s just bad noise.
‘They all want to go, they’re all happy to go, so get them out and start afresh. If there’s players around who are unsettled and not happy and it’s not going to plan, it’s like a cancerous, bad energy and it spreads around the changing room.
‘It makes things morbid and depressing. It would have been alright if the team was flying because those players just get left behind, but it’s especially bad when you’re not winning.’
Malacia was highly rated in Holland but is not suited to Amorim’s favoured 3-4-3 system and is keen to secure a move before the transfer window shuts on Monday night.
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