Is Varane marking the end of Maguire's Man Utd career?
Karan Tejwani
- 20 Sept 2022 07:40 BST
- 3 min read
Harry Maguire hasn’t had the best start to the season, having had a poor run of form and having lost his place to the partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Manchester United began the season with two defeats from their opening two games: 2-1 and 4-0 defeats to Brighton and Brentford, both of which Maguire started.
He’s been dropped in league games since, and has seen the team with four on the bounce domestically, including home successes over Liverpool and Arsenal.
Maguire then started the Europa League opener against Real Sociedad, and saw his side fall to defeat there too, before Manchester United beat Sheriff Tiraspol in the following match, which he didn’t start.
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Maguire will find it difficult to win place back
This is a peculiar stat: the team haven’t won any match he has started this season, and the partnership containing Varane and Martinez has been far more successful under Erik ten Hag this season.
Maguire had a tough end to last season, having suffered from injury and losing his place in the Manchester United first-team towards the end of Ralf Rangnick’s tenure at the club.
That led to doubts about his future under Ten Hag, but the coach held belief in his captain in pre-season and the start of the campaign, before dropping him as results went bad.
Great team effort. Thanks to the fans who travelled so far, as always you were unbelievable 🔴⚫️⚪️ #mufc pic.twitter.com/ov8DxynYcU
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) September 15, 2022
England manager Gareth Southgate has still kept faith in his trusted centre-half, though, selecting him for the national team despite seeing Maguire get dropped by his club.
The defender has been part of successful squads at the World Cup and European Championships in recent years, and Southgate he feels he can still deliver despite Maguire’s struggles.
It’s unclear how long Maguire will be dropped for – Martinez is the new signing and is important for the team’s style of football, so he won’t be let go of.
Varane, meanwhile, often suffers from injury issues, so it’s a question of how long he can stay fit for, and Maguire will have to make the most of the few chances he gets in the first-team.
