Harry Maguire has been told to fight for his place by Erik Ten Hag as the Manchester United manager insisted the England international is not his fifth-choice centre-back at the Old Trafford-outfit.
Harry Maguire, who is Manchester United’s captain, is no longer a regular starter for the Red Devils, with Erik Ten Hag mostly preferring the centre-back partnership between Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. Luke Shaw, who primarily plies his trade as a left-back, has even started as a centre-back at times ahead of Maguire.
That has resulted in limited game time for Harry Maguire at Manchester United in the 22/23 season. The centre-back has only had 711 minutes of game time across 15 matches for Manchester United so far in the 22/23 season.
He has only featured in eight of the 20 Premier League matches Manchester United have played so far this season. In those eight matches, he started in four while the other four were appearances off the bench.
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Erik ten Hag insists Harry Maguire is not his fifth-choice centre-back at Manchester United
Speaking ahead of Manchester United’s FA Cup clash with Reading, Erik Ten Hag insisted that Harry Maguire is not his fifth-choice centre-back.
The Manchester United manager also said Harry Maguire has to fight for his place in the team and that his fortunes could change.
“Harry Maguire? He’s not our fifth choice. Harry has to fight for his position and things can change – sometimes also really quickly. I think he is making progress and it’s up to him now,” Erik ten Hag said.
Meanwhile, Manchester United head into the FA Cup fourth-round match against Reading on the back of their impressive performance over Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup.
Manchester United faced Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the semi-final of the EFL Cup and secured a 3-0 win. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes took the Red Devils one step closer to the EFL Cup final.
The Red Devils will now be aiming to get the better of Reading and secure passage to the next stage of the FA Cup.
After the FA Cup clash with Reading, Manchester United will turn their attention to the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Erik ten Hag and co. will then face Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
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