Are Manchester United going to sell Harry Maguire? The England defender is not in Erik ten Hag’s plans
United boss Ten Hag has left club captain Maguire on the sidelines this season.
Harry Maguire has been selected to play for England at the World Cup later this month but his Manchester United future is now in doubt.
United have improved under new boss Erik ten Hag, who has strengthened the club’s defence with the central defensive pairing of Raphaël Varane and Lisandro Martínez.
Martínez has been an instant hit with United supporters, who continue to sing “Argentina! Argentina! Argentina” as the former Ajax man flies into tackles.
Varane is the experienced head in the heart of the defence, a defence supported by Diogo Dalot on the right and either Luka Shaw or Tyrell Malacia on the left.
Maguire left out
The Varane/Martínez partnership has grown, meaning club captain Maguire has been left watching from the stands. Supporters at Old Trafford lost faith in Maguire before Ten Hag was appointed, becoming a player visibly lacking in confidence and in inspiration.
Maguire’s dip has led to Ten Hag having to think in the short term as he continues to overhaul his squad. The impressive Dutch coach is involved in the decision-making off the field as well as acting in a hybrid role of manager and training ground coach.
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s off-field issues, Ten Hag has shown who is in charge, and with Maguire, he hasn’t been afraid to leave the club captain on the bench when many would have stuck by a player suffering from a lack of form.
United to consider offers for Maguire
The Guardian report that United will consider offers for Maguire next summer, with Ten Hag intent on selling the captain to help fund the arrival of new signings.
The England defender cost the Premier League giants £80 million but at Old Trafford they understand will have to accept a significant loss to sell him.
At 29, Maguire should be at the peak of his powers but has only started one Premier League match under Ten Hag since the 2-1 defeat to Brighton and 4-0 defeat at Brentford in the opening two matches of the 2022-23 campaign.
Swedish defender Victor Lindelöf started ahead of Maguire, partnering Martínez, in last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Aston Villa in the absence of Varane, who was sidelined through injury.
Ten Hag reportedly admires Maguire’s professionalism but sees his pace as a problem and wants to sell him to add competition for Varane and Martínez.