Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag urges Harry Maguire to fight for place at Manchester United
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is adamant that Harry Maguire is still part of the group and wants him to fight for a place in the team.
The England international has lost his influence in the Old Trafford side since the arrival of the Dutch manager last summer. In the previous campaign, the 30-year-old started in just eight Premier League games for the Red Devils.
In the ongoing transfer window, Maguire has been linked with a move away from Man United. As per The Athletic’s David Ornstein on Twitter, West Ham United have had a bid rejected for the centre-back.
As things stand, the English national is still part of the Red Devils’ squad. Speaking to the media via Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag still has faith in him and wants the defender to showcase his talent.
“It’s nothing against Harry, it was in advantage of the team. Then you have to make the decision. But I will not say that Harry isn’t part of this group. He has to fight for his position.
“He is a very good centre-back, and I believe in the potential of Harry Maguire. It’s just that he has to prove himself and fight his way into the team. It’s up to him, and I think he can do it.”
Maguire joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2019 from Leicester City. A few months into his stint at the Old Trafford side, the centre-back was handed the captain’s armband by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Under the Norwegian, the English national continued to play a key role at Man United. However, Ten Hag preferred other options at centre-back during his first year in charge of the Red Devils.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez formed a formidable partnership at the Old Trafford side last season. The two World Cup winners made us more solid as we kept 17 clean sheets in the previous campaign, the most in the English top flight.
Victor Lindelof also featured heavily as the backup ahead of Maguire towards the end of the season when Martinez was on the sidelines. The Dutch manager also opted to play Luke Shaw in central defence on a few occasions.
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Therefore, there is evidently a tough task ahead for the English national. We arguably have better centre-backs than him in the squad. Thus, does the defender have a future at the club? Only time will tell.
