Football

World Cup 2022: Premier League boss says Harry Maguire is ‘good enough to play at the highest level’

World Cup 2022: Premier League boss says Harry Maguire is ‘good enough to play at the highest level’

Harry Maguire is ‘good enough to play at the highest level,’ according to Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

The defender has been handed just nine appearances in all competitions by Ten Hag this season. Four of those have come in the Premier League.

Maguire has played four Europa League matches and one League Cup match, with the Man United boss opting for a centre-back pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane more often than not in recent months.

But Maguire has proven his worth in recent weeks at the 2022 World Cup, helping England reach the quarter-finals of the competition.

The Three Lions kept three clean sheets from their five matches, conceding four goals along the way. Two of those came against Iran, with the other two coming against France.

Maguire ‘good enough to play at highest level’

Despite not handing Maguire much game time since arriving at Old Trafford, Ten Hag believes there is potential for the defender to be a great player for the club.

“I’ve been asked many times,” said Ten Hag, as reported by BBC Sport. “It’s clear he is good enough to play at the highest level.

“He has, for England, good games almost all the time. He had a period in Manchester where he performed badly. Then, of course there are difficulties.

“But when he is working hard, he gets that confidence. You are seeing that with the way he is playing for England.

“We want him to bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that, he will be a great player for us.”

Maguire

Ten Hag: Maguire’s chance will come

Man United get their season back underway after the World Cup with a League Cup round of 16 meeting with Burnley on 21 December.

The Red Devils then have two Premier League matches to play before the end of the year; a home match with Nottingham Forest and an away fixture with Wolves.

Those matches take place on 27 and 31 December respectively, with Maguire in contention for a start given the circumstances.

His potential opportunity comes as both Martinez and Varane are still playing in the World Cup, with Argentina and France making it to the semi-finals of the competition.

Maguire meanwhile has, of course, headed home from Qatar after England’s quarter-final defeat to France.

The centre-back has made just one club start since August, and he was quickly dropped after that 4-0 defeat to Brentford. But his manager says the time will come when Maguire can once again prove himself to Man United supporters.

“I have two or three good players in the right centre-back position,” said Ten Hag.

“After Brentford, I had to change the mentality. He was unlucky that moment was bad for him but it doesn’t say anything about his quality. Rapha came in and is doing a good job.

“There are laws of the game in top football. You have to take your chance. The only thing he has to do is train well and perform well. He has games, he has rhythm. His chance will come.”


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