English national team manager Gareth Southgate has expressed concern to Manchester United captain Harry Maguire regarding his limited playing time at the club.
Although Maguire remains the team’s first-choice captain, he is no longer assured of a starting position.
As the countdown to Euro 2024 begins, Gareth Southgate has urged the United centre-back to consider his future due to concerns about his playing time.
This highlights the potential jeopardy of Maguire’s place in the national team. As reported by the Mirror, he said:
“Harry is captain of an incredible football club so that is a difficult situation. 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.”
“It is clear, really. I think Harry 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.”
The 30-year-old defender is facing a crucial summer after slipping down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag at Man United. Throughout the Premier League season, Maguire only started in eight matches.
The English star finds himself behind two world champions, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, in terms of preferred options.
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Furthermore, Victor Lindelof concluded the previous season strongly while covering for Martinez, who suffered a major injury that cut short his campaign.
Maguire is currently the fourth preferred option for the Red Devils in central defence. In order to increase their transfer funds, the club needs to sell some players, and Maguire should be one of them.
By selling him, United can generate a substantial amount of money that can be used to sign a new centre-back who aligns better with Ten Hag’s preferred style of play.
Both Maguire and the club would benefit from his departure from Old Trafford.
