Erik ten Hag says Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has a decision to make on his future at the end of the season.
Some will say the writing has been on the wall for Maguire since Erik ten Hag became Manchester United manager. The Dutchman planned early on to bolster his defence and the skipper quickly found himself pushed down the pecking order.
The 30-year-old has only made 16 appearances in the Premier League for United this season, which isn’t enough if you are planning to stay in Gareth Southgate’s line-up for the upcoming European Championships.
“No-one would be happy with this situation,” Ten Hag told Henry Winter of The Times.
“No-one would be happy with this situation,” Ten Hag told The Times.
“He is not as well. He trains always on best levels, so with 100% effort.
“So he handles that situation well and he’s in that manner and in his captaincy he’s important for the squad.”
Ten Hag adds that Maguire has strong competition at United – such as Varane – who, when fit, is never letting the England international back into the team.
The manager added: “He has high competition there [at centre-back] with Raphael Varane, who’s fantastic.
“Let’s say I’m happy he’s here and when we needed him he did his job. But it’s also a decision he has to make.”
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been Ten Hag’s preferred centre-back pairing in his first season, and it is understood that the manager wants better back-up options to be signed in the summer transfer window.
In turn, United have been linked with Napoli’s Kim Min-jae who would certainly push Maguire further down the pecking order.
Let us know in the comments section your thoughts on Harry Maguire.
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