Captain Harry Maguire shall be made to work for his place within the Manchester United XI as simply “one of” the staff’s leaders, in accordance with supervisor Erik ten Hag.
Maguire has been the United captain since January 2020, having been one of the primary names on the teamsheet for a lot of his time at Old Trafford.
But that’s now not the case after a troublesome begin to the season, failing to impress in defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.
Maguire performed alongside new signing Lisandro Martinez in these defeats, together with his team-mate additionally coming in for criticism.
However, Martinez stood out towards Liverpool on Monday as he stored his place at Maguire’s expense, with Raphael Varane introduced in.
Ten Hag seems to decided to maintain religion with Martinez, and for now Varane is forward of Maguire within the pecking order, too.
“I think it doesn’t mean when you are captain you are established to play always, especially when you also have Varane in your squad,” Ten Hag defined.
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“We have a pacesetter group and Harry is one of them. Bruno [Fernandes] is one of them.
“Bruno did quite well as captain [against Liverpool]. He led by example and he brings so much energy to the team in and out of possession.”
Maguire will get his alternatives, although, with United concerned in 4 competitions in a season that shall be disrupted by the World Cup break.
“We have options,” Ten Hag mentioned “Varane, his stature is immense, and in pre-season we took a call to construct him bodily, so he had a bit of a sluggish begin.
“His profile, his stature and what he gained already up to now exhibits he can actually contribute to his staff. For the staff, there may be competitors, and we’d like that. We must cowl so many video games.
“Victor Lindelof did rather well in pre-season, so I’m comfortable that he shall be again within the squad, so we can have another choice.
“We have competition internally, and that’s good. That is what top teams need.”
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