Erik ten Hag sets Harry Maguire key target upon Manchester United return

Despite being club captain, Harry Maguire has lost his place as leader of the Manchester United defensive line under Erik ten Hag.

After being brought in by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for a world-record fee of £80 million in 2019, it was due to incredible performances for England and Leicester City that earned him high plaudits as a ball-playing central defender.

However, fast-forward to the end of 2022, and Erik ten Hag has made his point clear – Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, whose respective countries have made it to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, are the first choice defenders for Manchester United at the current moment in time.

Speaking about the Englishman, Ten Hag has detailed that despite this, he still sees Maguire as an able defender within the squad.

“It’s clear he [Maguire] is good enough to play at the highest level,” he said. “He has, for England, good games almost all the time.

“He [Maguire] had a period in Manchester where he performed badly. Then, of course, there are difficulties. But when he is working hard, he gets that confidence. You are seeing that with the way he is playing for England.”

Maguire started every fixture for England in Qatar, and within the football fan community, gained much admiration for his performances alongside Manchester City’s John Stones.

“We want him [Maguire] to bring it on the pitch for Manchester United,” Ten Hag explained. “I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that, he will be a great player for us.”

Just like Martinez has done since joining in the summer, Ten Hag has set Maguire a challenge to “take his chance” once club football resumes in order to force his way back into the XI.

“There are laws of the game in top football. You have to take your chance. The only thing he [Maguire] has to do is train well and perform well. He has games, he has rhythm. His chance will come.

“When I choose Rapha [Varane] it is nothing against Harry [Maguire],” Ten Hag stressed. “Sometimes it is because one player is a lot better than the other. I have two or three good players in the right centre-back position.”

Maguire was replaced in the XI after a poor display against Brentford early in the Premier League season, where a 4-0 loss saw United sat bottom of the table after two games.

After Brentford, I had to change the mentality,” the Dutchman said, recalling the fixture. “He [Maguire] was unlucky that moment was bad for him, but it doesn’t say anything about his quality. Rapha [Varane] came in and is doing a good job.”

With England out of the World Cup after falling to a 2-1 defeat to France last Saturday, Maguire, along with all nine other Manchester United players who were eliminated at the same stage, will be granted a one-week break before they are expected to re-join Red Devil training ahead of the resumption of the domestic season.