Harry Maguire Still Has A Lot To Prove At Manchester United

The Manchester United club captain Harry Maguire enjoyed a successful international break with England over the last week.

He played the full ninety minutes in both of England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, a 2-1 win over Italy in Naples and a 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley.

Despite losing his starting place at United, the England manager Gareth Southgate has stood by Maguire, and over the last week was rewarded with two impressive performances to help deliver six qualifying points and top place in Group C.

This continued a familiar pattern for Maguire; underwhelming at club level, he still prospers in international football. He looks a different player in an England shirt, more composed and less error-prone, and has been voted into the team of the tournament for both the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 European Championships.

Maguire didn’t complete a hat-trick at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year, but still managed to impress as England reached the quarter-finals.

In the warm embrace of the national set-up, where Maguire acknowledges he feels appreciated he also felt emboldened to voice his frustration at his current diminished status back at Old Trafford.

“I feel like I’m 30-years-old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level,” Maguire said. “I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.”

“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now but I do understand when you are captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny.”

“Obviously, last season was difficult for the club but listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide-range of centre-backs. He has the choice of all of the English centre-backs in the country and every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team. I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team.”

“Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everyone else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”

“I see myself as a leader for my club as well,” said Maguire. “Obviously this season, I haven’t played as much as I’d like but for my club, I feel like my form’s been good this year. I know people obviously look at me not playing but when I’ve played, I think in my last eight or nine starts for Manchester United we have won. So my influence is still here.”

It takes enormous confidence to state you have nothing left to prove when you have lost your starting place at your club, and with it the team captaincy, and are now effectively Manchester United’s fifth choice centre-back.

Maguire’s run of poor form at club level started as far back as the disastrous 2021-22 season, but during it neither Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before he was sacked in the November, or his interim successor Ralf Rangnick had the courage to drop him.

This was left to the new United manager Erik ten Hag, who started Maguire in his opening two games of the season, but after witnessing his displays in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton and a 4-0 defeat to Brentford, immediately dropped him.

Since then Maguire has been forced to watch as a pair of World Cup winners Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have formed an impressive partnership and established themselves as United’s first choice centre-backs.

But more worryingly for Maguire is that over the course of the season he has slipped even further back in the queue behind Victor Lindelof, and even Luke Shaw, a natural left-back, who Ten Hag has started at centre-back instead of him more than once.

So far this season Maguire has started only 12 of Manchester United’s 46 games in all competitions, and come on as a substitute in a further 12 games. He has also had the unfamiliar role of being an unused substitute in 12 games this season.

To Maguire’s credit he has accepted his new supporting role with good grace and played an important role when called upon. A solid performer when he has made a rare start, when summoned from the bench late in games he has also helped to shore up United’s defence and defend their leads.

No one begrudged Maguire playing the last two minutes of the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle United at Wembley last month before lifting the trophy with the new team captain Bruno Fernandes, having also played in three earlier games in the competition.

But overall Ten Hag has decided he prefers the greater pace, positioning and passing ability of Varane and Martinez, and accepted that Maguire’s lack of mobility is a risk he can’t afford to take in the most important games.

Maguire’s declaration that he has nothing to prove is not the mindset of a man who is desperate to win his place in the side back, and he has possibly accepted his demotion is not something he can quickly change.

A mutually beneficial parting of the ways this summer is highly probable; United have proven they can prosper without him, and Maguire at the age of 30 will not want to sit on the bench for too much longer, especially as it could begin to jeopardize his prized starting place in the England side.

United need to raise funds to spend in the transfer market this summer and Maguire, despite his recent travails, remains an admired player who would still attract plenty of interest in the Premier League and beyond.