Ten Hag INSULTS Maguire with captain remark

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 28 Apr 2023 11:39 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag showed how far Harry Maguire has slipped out of his thinking with a comment he made after his side’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Thursday.

United are going through a tricky period and that continued in London, where they manufactured a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. However, the Red Devils were pinned back in the second half as Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min found the target.

It was a game that Maguire missed because of a training ground injury that Ten Hag has given little away about.

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One player who did make the game, though, was Bruno Fernandez, who had been expected to miss out after turning his ankle in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Brighton at the weekend.

“Of course he's ready, it's Bruno Fernandes,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “He's tough, he takes responsibility, he wants to play and, of course, we're happy he's there because he's a big players for us and he makes a big impact in every game.

“He's our captain, so we're really happy.”

Only, officially, he’s not Manchester United captain: Maguire is. Bruno simply fills in on the (regular) occasions when the England centre-back is not picked to start.

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Ten Hag comment shows what he really thinks of Maguire

It’s unlikely this was a deliberate dig by Ten Hag at the former Leicester man, but this insulting slip of the tongue does show, however, where the centre-back is in manager’s mindset. He’s not really the captain, he just wears the armband on the rare occasions that he features. It’s a ceremonial position rather than one of any note. It’s Bruno who is the real leader of the squad in Ten Hag’s eyes.

Given the Dutchman’s evasive comments on the defender’s injury, meanwhile, it is unsurprising that there is some scepticism over whether the player really was unable to play.

And, of course, all this points to the fact that Maguire will be out of the Old Trafford door in the summer, having failed to take the few chances he has been given by the new regime. These are his final weeks as a Manchester United player – and it will suit everyone when he finally moves on.