Martinez no better than Maguire for Man Utd says former England boss

FT Desk

• 29 Oct 2022 11:13 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United dropped €65.9 million on Ajax centre-back Lisandro Martinez this summer, but they needn't have bothered with Harry Maguire on the books according to one former England boss.

Erik ten Hag replaced Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford hot seat in April, and he has wasted little time in stamping his mark on the team, bringing two players with him from Ajax in the shape of Martinez and Antony.

Although he publicly reconfirmed Maguire as club captain, he has since dropped the England international in favour of a central defensive partnership of Martinez and Raphael Varane.

READ: Lisandro Martinez's transfer value has doubled since Man Utd move

With Varane injured, Victor Lindelof was preferred to Maguire in the 3-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on Thursday, and Sam Allardyce - who managed England for one game in September 2016 - thinks something is off.

"Why is he not in the team?" Big Sam asked William Hill. "Why is the new manager playing new players that he's bought over Harry? Because he bought them? That's the way it looks to me because they're certainly no better than Harry Maguire."

"I want to see him play for Manchester United again. Seeing them the other week play Manchester City - they need him!"

READ: Is Harry Maguire's Man Utd career over?

United were beaten 6-3 by their crosstown rivals Man City at the start of the month with Martinez and Varane once again paired at the heart of defence.

Is Big Sam right?

But that was United's only defeat across their last nine matches in all competitions, and Allardyce's accusation isn't entirely fair.

Whilst Ten Hag sanctioned the signing of Martinez, Varane joined in a €39.6m deal from Real Madrid the summer before he arrived, while Lindelof was a €45m acquisition from Benfica back in 2017.

Maguire, who cost a world record £80m (€93.2) for a centre-back when he joined from Leicester in 2019, remains a first-choice for England under Gareth Southgate, and a good World Cup could attract interest from other clubs.

Whether they recoup the fee they paid for him is another matter entirely.