England manager Gareth Southgate has stressed that an ongoing lack of playing time at Manchester United could impact Harry Maguire’s place in the international set-up.
Maguire fell down the pecking order at Manchester United following Erik ten Hag’s arrival. The Dutchman brought in Lisandro Martinez from Ajax and Victor Lindelof showed got a run in the team towards the end of the season.
Some reports have suggested that Maguire intends to stay and fight for his place in the team, even though a future at Old Trafford would be bleak for the centre-back.
Southgate has admitted Maguire needs more game time to prove his form and fitness, along with Man City midfielder Kelvin Phillips.
“He is captain of an incredible football club so that is a difficult situation,” Southgate said of Maguire after England’s 7-0 win over North Macedonia, as per The Athletic.
“He will obviously be frustrated not to play as much as he would like but I think he has handled that really well, he has publicly talked well about supporting the team.
“We have got a few players with a lot going on, really. They have managed to park that brilliantly in their period with us but there is potentially quite a few moves this summer that would be hugely important for their own careers, never mind for us.”
Southgate added: “I think him [Maguire] and Kalvin are the two who have played the least in terms of guys in this squad this season. But we have gone with them because in these two positions we think they are still ahead of others that might have played more.
“But it is then hard when that competition gets more even and you are not playing regularly to see their form, see their fitness, so that is the challenge for everybody.”
It would be a shame to see Maguire, 30, just stick around at United for the big pay day. His contract runs until 2025.
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