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Man Utd defender Harry Maguire “has to make” a decision on his future at the club, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
The centre-back has been strongly linked with an Old Trafford exit this summer after a frustrating season in Manchester.
Maguire was used sparingly by his manager, with Ten Hag opting for the duo of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez more often than not at the back.
Man Utd defender needs to make decision
Maguire was limited to just 15 Premier League appearances this season as Man Utd clinched a Champions League spot in an impressive campaign from Ten Hag’s men.
It was just the manager’s first season in charge, but he made it clear from the start that Maguire would not be playing regularly.
Despite being club captain, the defender was forced to largely watch on from the bench in the important matches, given minutes instead in the less-important encounters.
Ten Hag believes that Maguire is still an important member of the squad, noting that the defender always gives his best efforts in training.
But the summer transfer window is rapidly approaching, and it could mean that the £80m man is finally moved on from Man Utd.
“No one would be happy with this situation,” said Ten Hag, as quoted by BBC Sport. “He is not as well. He trains always on best levels, so with 100% effort.
“So he handles that situation well and he’s in that manner and in his captaincy he’s important for the squad. He has high competition there with Raphael Varane, who’s fantastic.
“Let’s say I’m happy he’s here and when we needed him he did his job. But it’s also a decision he has to make.”
England call-up for Man Utd man
Maguire has made some costly errors for Man Utd this season, but he remains an important part of the England national team setup.
Despite his lack of game time at club level, the centre-back played in all five of his country’s matches at the 2022 World Cup
It’s definitely a strange situation, with Maguire seemingly able to stay at Man Utd and still earn a call-up to the national team, with that continuing as he was recently named in the squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers.
But manager Gareth Southgate is definitely concerned by the player’s lack of game time, and that should be enough to force Maguire into a move away from Old Trafford this summer.
Given his displays for England, the centre-back should have no shortage of options in the months to come, with a club lower down the Premier League table perhaps ready to make a move for the 30-year-old.
His contract at Old Trafford does not expire until 2025, but that looks certain to be cut short.
Moreover, Man Utd are destined to make a massive loss on the player, who was signed for a world-record £80m for a defender from Leicester back in 2019.
That won’t matter too much to Ten Hag, however, who will simply want to build his own Red Devils squad and move on any players he doesn’t feel can do a job for him.
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