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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag believes club captain Harry Maguire could still become a regular starter for the team due to his quality.
Lisandro Martinez's superb displays since arriving in the summer and his own below-par displays pushed Maguire out of United's XI in the first half of the club season. After starting their first two Premier League games, he has registered just one other start in their next 12 league matches.
He notably missed five of those contests due to a hamstring injury sustained while on international duty for England. Maguire also spent just 141 minutes on the pitch in four UEFA Europa League games.
Despite showing a preference for Martinez and Raphael Varane as his starting centre-backs, Ten Hag believes there is a way back for Maguire. The Manchester United boss recently said (as quoted by the Mirror):
"I've been asked many times if he is good enough to play for me and it is clear he is good enough to play at the highest level. He has, for England, almost all the time good games."
The Dutch tactician added:
"Yes, he had a period in Manchester where he performed badly and then of course there are difficulties. But when he is confident in himself, he will put that on the pitch. When he is working hard you will get that confidence and you are seeing that with the way he is playing for England."
Erik ten Hag concluded:
"We want him to bring that back to Manchester with him so he can bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that, he will be a great player for us."
Manchester United's Harry Maguire was superb for England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
While he struggled for playing time at Manchester United this season, few doubted whether Harry Maguire would start for England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The central defender started and completed four of their five matches, having been substituted after 70 minutes in their opener.
Maguire helped the Three Lions keep three clean sheets in those five matches, while also assisting once. Additionally, he averaged 0.8 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 3.6 clearances per game, while being dribbled past just once. The Red Devils centre-back won 75% of his aerial duels as well.
Maguire will now hope to take that form into the second half of the club season. Manchester United will be in action just three days after the FIFA World Cup final for an EFL Cup tie against Burnley on December 21.
