Erik ten Hag opens door to Harry Maguire transfer exit as boss tells benched defender to make ‘decision’ on future
ERIK TEN HAG has opened the door for Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United.
Club captain Maguire has found game time limited this season due to the preference of Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof at right centre-back ahead of him.
Even full-back Luke Shaw has been more readily utilised as a left centre-back when Lisandro Martinez is not fit, rather than Maguire being deployed there.
Indeed, of the 16 Premier League games the 30-year-old played in, only half saw him named in the starting XI.
Talking to The Times about Maguire’s place in the squad, Ten Hag said: “Yes, but he has high competition there with Raphaël Varane [at centre back], who’s fantastic. That describes everything.
“No one would be happy with this situation [on the bench].
“He is not as well. He trains always on [the] best levels, so with 100 per cent effort.
“So he handles that situation well and he’s in that manner and in his captaincy he’s important for the squad.”
Following his fall down the pecking order, Ten Hag believes Maguire has a “decision” to make on his future.
When asked whether the former Leicester star would stay at Old Trafford beyond the summer, the Dutchman replied: “Let’s say I’m happy he’s here and when we needed him he did his job.
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“But it’s also a decision he has to make.”
After calling Maguire up for his latest International squad, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate warned Maguire: “It’s not a situation that can continue forever.”
In his interview, Ten Hag also spoke about the likes of David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho, detailing their progression throughout the season.
The former Ajax boss also called on the club to back him in the summer market, after failing to invest in January with the ownership of the club still up in the air.
He said: “When you see the investment in the Premier League — [in the] summer window we did [spend] as well, to be fair.
“In the winter window, we didn’t do anything. We had loan players [Wout Weghorst, Marcel Sabitzer and Jack Butland] but when you look around, all the other clubs invested to be in the top four and we didn’t invest.
“You can’t ignore that. If you want to be competitive in this league, you have to invest. I need signings, yes.”
Ten Hag also appeared to hint Mason Greenwood, who saw attempted rape and assault charges dropped in February, could sensationally stay at United.
It came on the topic of needing more firepower, with Ten Hag saying Greenwood “showed in the past that he is capable” of performing the striker role.
However, he emphasised Greenwood’s future was not up to him.