Ten Hag gives hope to dropped Man Utd star

Tom Weber

• Updated: 10 Apr 2023 15:05 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag heaped praise on Harry Maguire after Manchester United's 2-0 win over Everton.

United's club captain has found himself out of favour since Erik ten Hag took the reins at Old Trafford, with the Dutchman preferring the centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. Indeed, Maguire had only made five Premier League starts before Saturday's lunchtime encounter with the Toffees.

In total, the 30-year-old has only featured in 25 appearances this term as rumours about his future in Manchester have abounded. As a matter of fact, many believe that the English defender will depart United at the end of the season.

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Nevertheless, Maguire was given a rare start against Everton, and he impressed his coach so much that he spoke glowingly about the captain's imperious performance after the match.

What did Ten Hag say?

"It's not that easy for Harry," Ten Hag remarked, "and if you then deliver the performance he did today, really well done." Maguire, the Dutchman said, executed the gameplan excellently: "In and out of possession, dominating and dictating. That is my demand on him and he transferred that to the pitch."

Despite this impressive outing, there are still murmurs about a potential departure, and they likely won't go away anytime soon. Indeed, if reports are to believed, internally at Manchester United, there are doubts about whether Maguire has the mobility and defensive awareness needed to be a top modern defender, which goes to explain why Ten Hag has favoured other players.

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The Manchester United staff are said to be not exactly convinced that Maguire can perform consistently for the club. If those reports are true, the 30-year-old likely won't have much of a future with the Red Devils - regardless of whether he can still get the job done against a side like relegation-threatened Everton.