Erik ten Hag makes a final call on Harry Maguire’s Man Utd future amid quest for defender
Manchester United may be looking for a new defender this summer, but Harry Maguire is expected to stay at the club despite uncertainty about his near future.
Despite a fantastic Euro 2020 campaign with England last summer, the United captain had another challenging year at Old Trafford.
As a result, his future at the club has been called into question with the arrival of Erik ten Hag, who has every right to shake things up.
There are still questions over whether Maguire will be United’s captain next season, but the defender will continue with the club anyway.
If Ten Hag can get rid of Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, or Axel Tuanzebe, he will want to bring in another centre-back.
Ten Hag’s major options at center-back are Maguire, Raphael Varane, and Victor Lindelof, but the Dutchman may want to bring in his own option if United can offload some of their unwanted players this summer.
Jurrien Timber and Lisandro Martinez of Ajax have been linked, as has Pau Torres of Villarreal.
But, for the time being, Ten Hag must analyse his present squad, and Maguire still meets the criteria.
However, it is unclear whether he will continue to wear the armband when United meet Brighton on the first day of the season.
Ten Hag has already been questioned on this, as he was during his first United press conference. “Next season is a different season but he did a great job,” Ten Hag said about Maguire.
“He’s a great player he achieved already a lot so I’m looking forward to working with him.” And Maguire has also been open about working under Ten Hag, and the current captain is keen to move on from a poor season.
“It’s been a tough campaign, no hiding away from that,” Maguire explained. “It was a disappointing season individually and as a group. Football’s my life. I care about the club so much.
“I care about winning matches and taking the club to where it should be, where the fans deserve it to be. I’m sure on the first day of pre-season, everybody will be buzzing around, doing their best to impress and coming back in shape.
“We have a big season ahead. We know we are going to improve because last season was nowhere near good enough. The new manager will bring positive energy and the lads will go with that.”
United had their poorest Premier League season to date, failing to produce a positive goal differential in a humiliating campaign.
Despite losing to Crystal Palace on the penultimate day, the Red Devils almost missed out on a Europa League spot.
There is much work to be done, and Ten Hag has a big task ahead of him, but he, like the bulk of his predecessors, will be given time.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all failed to find the ideal winning recipe for United, and the club is now ten years without a league trophy.
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Erik ten Hag makes a final call on Harry Maguire’s Man Utd future amid quest for defender
