Ten Hag pushes Maguire out of Man Utd by STRIPPING captaincy

Cameron Smith

• 16 Jul 2023 17:12 BST
• 4 min read

Harry Maguire has officially confirmed that he is no longer the captain of Manchester United after being stripped of the role by Erik ten Hag.

The England international was demoted to the Red Devils’ fourth-choice centre-back last season, with Victor Lindelof and summer signing Lisandro Martinez leapfrogging him in the pecking order.

In addition, Ten Hag pushed hard to sign Napoli’s Kim Min-jae earlier this window, although he looks set to join Bayern Munich instead.

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With Maguire out of the team for large chunks of last season, Bruno Fernandes wore the captain’s armband for the majority of the campaign, and the Portuguese midfielder has been heavily linked with the role on a permanent basis.

Maguire took to social media to confirm that he is no longer Man Utd skipper.

He Tweeted: “After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.

“So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football.

“I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful - on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support. Harry.”

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What next for Maguire?

Ten Hag’s decision to strip Maguire of the Man Utd captaincy has fuelled rumours that suggest his future lies elsewhere. The former Leicester City star has been linked with an exit this summer and now he is no longer club captain at Old Trafford, a departure appears more likely.

Back in May, FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that West Ham are interested in signing Maguire and Sky Sports have now also reported that the Hammers are looking at the 30-year-old.

According to the Daily Mail, Man Utd have set their asking price for Maguire at €46.6 million (£40m). West Ham have recently sold Declan Rice to Arsenal for an initial €116m (£100m), so they do have money in the bank, although they will need to replace their former club captain too.

Who will be the next Man Utd captain?

Fernandes is seen as the most likely candidate to take the armband on a permanent basis given his experience of the role last season.

Casemiro could also be an option for Ten Hag, while Lisandro Martinez has been an influential leader since arriving from Ajax in 2022 and could be turned to.