Manchester United captain Harry Maguire says he is eager to play more regularly after falling out of favour at Old Trafford.
He started for the Red Devils in their 2-1 victory over Fulham today but will likely drop back to the bench for the FA Cup final clash against Manchester City.
Speaking to MUTV after the game, Maguire admitted that he wants to play more.
He said (via Manchester Evening News): “Yeah, of course [asking if he would like to start more].
“Listen, we have a lot of competition for places and that’s what a big club needs. Lots of strength in depth.
“I think you’ve seen today, after 20 minutes, it was a positive performance.
“[We had] lads who stepped in, lads who haven’t played as much and I think the manager and his staff can rely upon us and know that, if he makes changes, we can do the job, so it’s good to be part of this squad.
“I think if we’re going to be successful this season and next season and the season after, we’re going to need a big squad.”
Maguire may have played his last game for United
Maguire’s game time has been severely restricted under Erik ten Hag. He has started only eight games in the English top flight this season.
The 30-year-old wants to avoid being used sporadically at this stage of his career.
Losing his starting spot in United will have a knock-on effect on Maguire’s place in the England national team.
With increasing competition for places, Gareth Southgate cannot continue to hand a starting role to Maguire.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are ahead of him in the centre-back pecking order at United.
Victor Lindelof’s recent form shows that Ten Hag trusts him to do the job when his first-choice defenders are unavailable.
Maguire’s performance against Fulham wasn’t great. He looked sluggish and often slowed the tempo of the game.
The United skipper gave away the corner from which Fulham scored.
He was at fault again when his poor pass was intercepted, leading to the Fulham counter-attack for their penalty.
It is best for Maguire and United that he finds another club this summer.
