
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Harry Maguire comes out swinging in defence of Man Utd teammate tipped for January exit

Man Utd striker Joshua Zirkzee
Harry Maguire has told Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee that his teammates and fans have “full faith” in him amid growing rumours that the club’s summer signing could be on his way out during the remaining weeks of the January window.
The Netherlands international has endured a tough time since moving to Old Trafford from Serie A outfit Bologna last summer in a deal worth £36.5million.
Indeed, Zirkzee has scored just four goals and added two assists in 29 appearances in all competitions so far and was embarrassingly subbed off after 33 minutes of Man Utd‘s 2-0 loss to Newcastle recently.
Storming down the tunnel after that incident did not help his cause as he was further criticised by pundits and United supporters, which only served to add fuel to the rumours that his time in Manchester is already drawing to a close. Indeed, journalist David Ornstein recently revealed how United actually view the Zirkzee signing, months on from his arrival.
Juventus are known to be keen on bringing the player back to Italy, where he would be reunited with his former Bologna boss Thiago Motta.
However, Zirkzee did earn some plaudits off the bench in the FA Cup win at Arsenal as he scored the winning penalty in the shootout and, speaking after the match, Maguire insisted everyone is behind the Dutchman, saying: “I’ve had a time for this club where things are tough, and everyone seems to be against you. But one thing’s for sure is that the United fans stick with you. When times were tough, they stuck with me.
“That game against Newcastle he was the unfortunate one to get brought off. You could have subbed any of the 11 players off at that moment in time and they would have all got booed, because we all deserved to get booed because we were awful in the first 30 minutes. He was the unfortunate one that the manager [subbed off] because of the tactical nous of it. Kobbie [Mainoo] came on and changed the game really.
“It had nothing to do really with Josh. He probably knows that and he probably felt it at the time, even though it was disappointing for him. It’s a great ending that he scores that winning penalty – and the lads had full faith in him because that’s what he does.”
READ MORE ➡️ The rise of Kobbie Mainoo at Man Utd and why Chelsea sale would be catastrophic mistake
READ MORE ➡️ How Marcus Rashford fits in at AC Milan, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund or Juventus
Altay Bayindir shows his quality
Zirkzee is not the only United player whose future at Old Trafford has been questioned, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir also under the microscope after his horror display in the Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to Tottenham.
However, the Turkey international went a long way to redeeming himself as he made numerous superb saves to keep United in the game, including a penalty stop from Martin Odegaard and then another save n the shootout to deny Kai Havertz.
“When you play for this club the lows are really low and the highs are really high,” Maguire added when asked about Bayindir’s performance in north London.
“You’ve got to try and maintain yourself because there’s going to be games where you play bad and everyone jumps on you. But then the games where you play well you become the best player in your position in the world.
“You’ve got to stay grounded and level-headed but he was brilliant tonight, made big saves at crucial moments. The penalty, if we had gone 2-1 down it would have been really tough to come back from that and he made a great save from Declan [Rice] late on.
“That’s what he’s here to do. I’m sure he would have been disappointed with his game against Spurs. We see him at training, he can produce quality saves. He’s a great, experienced goalkeeper. Really pleased for him.”
United are back in action again on Thursday evening when they host Southampton in the Premier League.
Latest Man Utd news: Garnacho exit talk ramps up / Forgotten man tipped to move on
Contact between Manchester United and Napoli for the January transfer of Alejandro Garnacho has opened, with a report also revealing the higher-than-expected transfer fee in play.
Napoli are in the market for a brand new left winger ahead of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s anticipated transfer to PSG. The Georgian ace wants out of Napoli and the club have begrudgingly greenlit his exit.
With Kvaratskhelia set to move on, Napoli boss Antonio Conte requires an impactful replacement. According to a recent update from SportItalia, Man Utd’s Garnacho, 20, has been identified as priority target No 1 by the Italian manager.
Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Manchester United are willing to part ways with Tyrell Malacia in January, and the reporter has clarified links to one European side as well as detailing the types of exit in play.