Rio Ferdinand has just made a statement regarding Harry Maguire. Specifically, witnessing Maguire continue to sit on the bench against Wolves when coach Erik ten Hag trusted Luke Shaw next to Raphael Varane, Ferdinand commented:
“If I were Maguire, I’d find a new team. The new manager is showing that Maguire won’t be the club’s top two or three centre-back options.”
Ferdinand’s comments are similar to those of Jamie Carragher earlier this year. Speaking in September after the Man Utd player was booed by England fans, Carragher urged Maguire to leave Old Trafford:
“I wrote last year that Maguire is fighting for his career at Manchester United. He needs to see this as his last season at Old Trafford and start over. Now it’s England’s problem. When I watched Maguire play the last two games, I feel sorry for him.”
Ferdinand and Carragher simultaneously called on Maguire to leave Man Utd.
It is difficult for Maguire to return to the starting line-up of Man Utd if you look at the current situation. On the day Man Utd returned to play against Burnley in the Carabao Cup, two options to play at center back were Victor Lindelof and Casemiro. Casemiro played brilliantly and showed his omnipotence. He therefore suddenly became a counterweight for Maguire instead of comparing the former Leicester City star with any ordinary central defender.
After Casemiro, even if Lisandro Martinez could not play, Shaw, not Maguire, was the name used next to Varane. Ten Hag has an explanation that Maguire has not reached the best physical foundation, but many people feel that is not a convincing reason.
What happened in the first half of the previous season clearly confirmed that Ten Hag did not see Maguire as a priority. He still let the English midfielder wear the captain’s armband because he did not want to create a disturbance in his role as the leader of the dressing room. Anyway, the player born in 1993 is still a voice and outstanding leader. However, in terms of professional capacity, the blockbuster signature from Leicester of Man Utd could not convince Ten Hag.
This has only led to the move that the Old Trafford team wants to sign Napoli’s Kim Min-Jae, who has starred for Korea at the World Cup. When Kim really wears the Red Devil’s shirt, Man Utd needs to push people away to balance the expenditure just made. Maguire leads the list of Man Utd that need to be liquidated because they will have an excess of central defenders.
Maguire is currently knocked out by Shaw.
And even if the Napoli central defender has not come to the club, reluctant horizontal players like Casemiro or Shaw are favored over Maguire. It is not easy to think about the possibility of the 29-year-old midfielder regaining his starting position, even though he has just gone through the 2022 World Cup successfully.
Ferdinand and Carragher were right about Maguire leaving Man Utd. That is the best way for him to save his career and at the same time help Man Utd think less about how to solve the problem of the number 5.
Lu Feng | 18:15 01/01/2023
