Ten Hag tells Harry Maguire he can leave Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

• 30 May 2023 09:40 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has opened the door for Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United this summer, admitting it is up to the defender if he wants to find a new club.

Maguire has endured two miserable past seasons for Man Utd, ever since Euro 2020.

After an error-prone 2021-22 season, he finally lost his place in the first team during the current campaign as manager Ten Hag preferred Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his centre back pairing.

When Maguire has played he has often struggled, including two huge errors in the Europa League quarter-final defeat to Sevilla.

Maguire dropped to fifth choice in the centre back pecking order at United, with left-back Luke Shaw even preferred to him recently in the absence of Martinez and Varane.

What did Ten Hag say about Maguire?

"He has high competition there with Raphael Varane, who's fantastic," Ten Hag told The Times.

“No-one would be happy with this situation [not playing]. He's not as well. He trains always on best levels, with 100 percent effort.

“So he handles that situation well and he's in that manner and in his captaincy he's important for the squad. Let's say I'm happy he's here and when we needed him he did his job, but it's also a decision he has to make [over whether he leaves]."

Maguire is not expected to start in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

The 30-year-old is likely to leave in the summer in order to protect his position for the England national team ahead of Euro 2024.

Maguire joined Man Utd from Leicester in a world record deal for a defender in 2019.

He has made 175 appearances and scored seven goals.