Ten Hag reveals ‘not right’ reason for Maguire’s Man Utd recall

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 8 Apr 2023 11:58 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been recalled to the starting XI for Saturday’s Premier League fixture with Everton, with manager Erik ten Hag having explained his thinking.

Maguire has rarely featured from the beginning of matches for the Red Devils this season, having fallen quickly out of favour after the Dutchman’s arrival from Ajax in the summer.

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Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been the go-to pairing for the Red Devils in their biggest matches and Maguire will make just his fourth Premier League start since the 4-0 loss against Brentford back in August. Varane is the player to miss out.

Ten Hag, though, is quite happy to throw the 30-year-old defender into action given Man Utd’s schedule, which he claims is “not right”.

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Why is Maguire starting against Everton?

“We have the most crazy schedule of all the Premier League teams, we have three games to cover in six days, which is not right, but we have to deal with it,” he told BT Sport.

“Harry Maguire can deal with all his opponents. He just had to bring it on the pitch. I’ve seen so many good things on the training ground and also in games.

“He played against Fulham, against Betis, he’s playing for England, so he's fit and ready to play."

And Ten Hag has revealed what Maguire will have to do if he wants to earn more regular game time for the Red Devils.

“He has to dominate his opponent in and out of possession because that is his status and that is his reputation,” he said.

At Old Trafford, he will face former United trialist Ellis Simms, who has been handed a start for the Toffees in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Maguire might have fallen out of favour this season, but he has still racked up 24 appearances for Manchester United, albeit exactly half of these have been as a substitute.