Ten Hag reveals what will make him sell Maguire, though details route back into Man Utd eleven

Erik ten Hag outlined what’ll make him sanction the sale of Harry Maguire, though threw his backing behind the centre-half and detailed a route back into the starting eleven.

Harry Maguire’s fortunes for club and country have been in stark contrast this season. Maguire remained a key component in Gareth Southgate’s England side in Qatar and by and large, excelled at the World Cup.

There had been rumblings within the media Maguire could be axed from Southgate’s starting eleven in lieu of his demotion at club level.

Indeed, the 29-year-old fell behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in the pecking order. The MEN even reported Victor Lindelof had superseded Maguire in Ten Hag’s plans, with the end result Maguire racking up just three league starts all season.

With England out of the World Cup attention is quickly turning back to the domestic scene. When asked about Maguire during a recent press conference, the Manchester United boss went into detail on all things Maguire.

Ten Hag stressed Maguire can win a starting role back and insisted the player should not take his demotion personally. Furthermore, the Dutchman claimed that while he has no intention of offloading Maguire, he would consider a sale if the player wanted out.

Is Harry Maguire good enough for Man Utd?

“I can only back him,” said Ten Hag (via the Manchester Evening News). “I’ve been asked many times if he is good enough [to play for me] and it is clear he is good enough to play at the highest level.

“And then it is up to him to show that confidence on the pitch and he didn’t show that in all the games [for United].

“When he is playing with his confidence like now, he is a massively important player for us and that is what everyone expects. That’s what Harry expects from himself.

“He has that high standard, he wants to play at the highest level, he wants to lead the defensive line, so it is up to him. I’m sure he has the potential to play in our style and fit into our system.

“He has, for England, almost all the time good games,” the Dutchman continued.

“He had a period in Manchester where he performed badly and then, of course, there are difficulties but when he is confident in himself, he will put that on the pitch.

“When he is working hard you will get that confidence and you are seeing that with the way he is playing for England.

“We want him to bring that back to Manchester with him so he can bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that he will be a great player for us.”

Maguire demotion nothing personal – Ten Hag

Two of Maguire’s three league starts were United’s first two matches of the season.

Both ended in defeat, with Ten Hag re-selecting Raphael Varane for matchday three at Maguire’s expense. Since that day, Maguire has started just one more league encounter.

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

“After Brentford [4-0 defeat], I chose. I had a feeling I had to change there – personal but I had to change the mentality.

“He was unlucky that moment was bad for him but it doesn’t say anything about his quality that he can’t do it or my opinion about his quality.

“Rapha came in and is doing a good job. There are laws of the game in top football – you have to take your chance. Your chance will always come.

“The only thing he (Maguire) has to do is train well, perform well, he has games, he has rhythm and his chance will come. He will have a chance to show it and then he’s in and he will play.

“That (rarely picking Maguire) was nothing against him. Varane and Lindelof, I’m in a good position because they are consistent and stable and our centre halves have a really high level.”

Maguire exit only if player demands it

The subject of Ten Hag not wanting to sell Maguire despite his demotion to a squad role was then broached.

Ten Hag added on whether he’ll eventually axe the centre-back: “Only when he doesn’t want to be in these circumstances any more. Until that moment, I am happy with him.

“I have said it to him and you, I can do nothing more. It is up to him to contribute to play himself into the team.

“There are laws of the game. We have 16-18 players in the squad and that is what you need at the top level if you want to play for trophies. All the number of games we have to cover and then it is about the players who construct the best team, and that team we will pick.

“It is nothing to do with being personal.”

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