How Maguire found his Man United form ahead of England call،
Speaking ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League match with Luton Town at his usual Friday press conference, held in the Jimmy Murphy Building at the club’s Carrington training ground, Erik ten Hag was repeatedly asked about central defender Raphaël Varane. The questions were about why the French World Cup winner couldn’t make the team and most of the answers were part of the same theme.
According to the Dutchman, Harry Maguire is playing too well to be left out.
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After helping United keep a clean sheet in that 1-0 win over Luton, Maguire said his decision to stay at Old Trafford this summer – rather than accept a transfer offer to West Ham – had been vindicated and for the first time. since March 2022, the 30-year-old has joined England while being a regular at his club.
It’s quite a turnaround for Maguire, who has spent most of the last 18 months in the shadows. Still the most expensive defender in football history following his £80 million move from Leicester City in 2019, he made just eight Premier League starts last season as Ten Hag opted for partnership preferred center back between Varane and Lisandro Martínez.
He was unable to make the team even after Martinez fractured his foot at the end of last season – Varane and Victor Lindelöf started in the FA Cup final against Manchester City in June – but the Argentine suffered a recurrence of the same injury in In September, Ten Hag turned to Maguire.
Those close to Maguire insist nothing has changed and his standard in training and matches has remained high throughout his absence from the team. But speaking after United’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United in October, Ten Hag suggested the England defender’s return had coincided with a better understanding of how he should play.
“I have to say Harry is playing the way we want him to play,” he said. “Very proactive out of possession, dominating his opponent, intervening when necessary, reading the game, good coverage but also very proactive in possession, intervening, delivering good passes, switching. I’m happy with his performance.”
Sources close to Ten Hag told ESPN that he had also been impressed by Maguire’s attitude since learning in the summer that he would be stripped of his captaincy.
After handing the armband to Bruno Fernandes, there were fears the change would cause disruption in the dressing room, but it was noted how well Maguire handled the decision, especially one seen as relatively embarrassing. Even though he is no longer the team’s senior leader, he still plays a role in trying to convince England teammate Jadon Sancho to apologize to Ten Hag and end his exile from the first team .
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As a United source has said, Maguire has become a player that Ten Hag can trust during what has been a difficult start to the campaign. There were concerns over the commitment of some members of the team during the run of poor results and Ten Hag looked to pick ‘fighters’ in a bid to dig the team out of the hole.
Speaking in the Craven Cottage dressing room after a narrow 1-0 win at Fulham, Ten Hag praised his players’ fighting spirit in a match everyone knew they could not afford to lose. Jonny Evans, Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho were singled out for special mention with Maguire, who twice looked like he might pick up an injury, only to continue both times.
Ten Hag came to the conclusion that Maguire and Varane are not suitable as central defense partners because, as he said, “the preparation is not so smooth when one of them plays from the defender position center left”. So, when he wanted to bring Lindelof back for the match against Luton, it was the four-time Champions League winner who was excluded.
Three months after it seemed likely Maguire would leave Old Trafford, there is now speculation over Varane’s future ahead of the January transfer window, particularly amid tepid interest from the Saudi Pro League. A source close to Varane insisted nothing has been decided but, at 30, he wants to play regularly.
United insist Maguire was never sent off this summer, but they also don’t deny he was available for a transfer, believing West Ham’s £30m bid in August represented a good value for a player whose prospects at Old Trafford looked bleak.
One of five senior center backs in the team, his long-term future is still uncertain and Ten Hag will face a difficult decision when Martinez returns from injury, perhaps before the end of the year. For now, though, Maguire is Ten Hag’s man of the moment and for the first time in a long time, he’s too important to leave out.
