England manager Gareth Southgate has warned Manchester United captain Harry Maguire about his lack of regular game-time at the club level.
Maguire is still Man United’s captain but is no longer a guaranteed starter.
Southgate believes the defender needs to think about his future as the countdown to the 2024 European Championship begins.
He said (via the Mirror), “Harry is captain of an incredible football club so that is a difficult situation.
“He will obviously be frustrated not to play as much as he would like but I think he has handled that really well – he has publicly talked well about supporting the team.
“It is clear, really. I think Harry and Kalvin (Phillips) are the two who have played the least in terms of guys in this squad this season.
“But we have gone with them because, in these two positions, we think they are still ahead of others that might have played more.
“But it is then hard when that competition gets more even and you are not playing regularly to see their form, see their fitness so that is the challenge for everybody.”
Time for Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United
Southgate’s concerns show that Maguire’s spot in the national team is in danger.
The 30-year-old faces a pivotal summer after falling down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag. He made only eight starts over the entire Premier League season.
He has two world champions – Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez – ahead of him.
Victor Lindelof finished the last campaign strongly as he filled in for Martinez, whose season ended early due to a serious injury.
This leaves Maguire as the fourth choice in the heart of the defence.
United must sell a few players if they want to boost their transfer budget, and one of them should be Maguire.
Offloading him can help United get a decent fee which can be leveraged to buy another centre-back who fits into Ten Hag’s style of play.
An Old Trafford exit makes sense for both parties.
