Harry Maguire fires stern Manchester United defender warning as he fights to start under Erik ten Hag

Harry Maguire started and played 90 minutes as Manchester United defeated Charlton Athletic 3-0 to place themselves in the EFL Cup semi-finals.

Having lost his place to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United, Harry Maguire has been granted the chance to shine by Erik ten Hag in recent fixtures.

Having played 90 minutes on Tuesday evening as well as last week against Bournemouth, Maguire has told Sky Sports he is looking to get himself back into the starting XI for the second half of the season.

“It felt good” he said after the 3-0 victory over Charlton. “I played last week as well against Bournemouth; I was unfortunate in terms of when I came back from the World Cup because I had a bad illness to be honest and it knocked be back for one or two weeks.

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“I feel good now and I’m back playing,” he continued. “I’ve played two 90 minutes and we have a lot of centre-halves at this club, a lot of good centre-halves as well, so there is a lot of competition for places and I’ll keep fighting.”

Maguire also laid down the law for United after the game, detailing that the stature of the club means they should always be fighting for trophies.

“This club is about winning trophies, we have got to make sure we take each competition really seriously,” he said.

When questioned on his fellow countryman Marcus Rashford, Maguire only had positive things to say about the man who has scored for eight straight fixtures at Old Trafford – becoming the first player to do so since Wayne Rooney.

“He’s in great form, it’s great to see,” Maguire said of the winger. “Playing with a big smile on his face is the most important thing – enjoying his football, and long may it continue.”

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