Maguire decides Man Utd future

Stuart Telford

• 11 Apr 2023 09:21 CDT
• 3 min read

Harry Maguire has reportedly made a decision on his future having fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United despite being club captain.

Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag confirmed that Maguire would remain captain at the start of the season, but that hasn't stopped him from fielding Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his first-choice central defensive pairing.

England stalwart Maguire has been restricted to just six Premier League starts this season, and he has been linked with a host of clubs, from Paris Saint-Germain to previous employers Leicester.

READ: Ten Hag gives hope to dropped Man Utd star

Speculation was rife that Maguire would leave in January - especially after he and his agent were pictured having a meal at a restaurant near Aston Villa's training ground - but no transfer materialised.

'Maguire wants to win trophies with Man Utd'

"Ten Hag recently publicly praised Harry Maguire and that is because the Dutchman really appreciates the English defender, especially as a top professional," transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column.

"Maguire has never created any problems - this is why he was not on the market in January. For the summer though, a lot will depend on what the player wants. As for now, Maguire is fully focused on the final part of the season and wants to win more trophies with Man United. He will speak to Ten Hag to decide his future at the end of the season."

READ: Southgate puts pressure on Harry Maguire to leave Man Utd

Maguire won his first trophy with United in February as the Red Devils beat Newcastle 2-0 in the EFL Cup final, but he only got the final two minutes of that game after replacing Marcus Rashford.

He could yet end this season with a Europa League triumph to his name, whilst the Premier League remains mathematically possible, but it would appear to be likely that he will seek pastures new in the summer.

United have been linked with Ajax's Dutch international youngster Jurrien Timber and Monaco's Axel Disasi, players in Maguire's position, and if one of them is signed there would be little to no path to first-team minutes at Old Trafford.

Maguire remains the most expensive centre-back of all-time having joined United from Leicester for £80 million in the summer of 2019, although he is only valued at €29.8m (£26.2m) by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm now.