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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Erik ten Hag will allow captain Harry Maguire to leave the club next summer.
It has been a difficult start to the new season for Maguire off the back of a woeful 2021-22 campaign.
The Red Devils skipper has been dropped by Ten Hag to the substitutes bench and it has coincided with an upturn in form for the club.
United have won all four league fixtures that Maguire hasn't started and lost the first two of which he did.
Ten Hag has gone with the partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez which has worked wonders.
Maguire's future in the Manchester United XI has been left uncertain and Ferdinand believes his time at Old Trafford may be coming to an end.
He said on his Vibe with FIVE podcast:
“If there is takers I think Erik ten Hag lets him go."
He continued,
“I think he’ll want to go, if he isn’t playing I don’t think he wants to sit there – there are other people who have chosen to sit there when they aren’t playing and that’s fine, but I don’t think Harry Maguire is one of those guys."
“He loves football and wants to play, and he’ll have an open and honest conversation with the manager.”
Maguire's spot in the England XI has also been up for debate.
However, he has been called up to Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad for upcoming Nations League games against Italy and Germany.
Maguire joined Manchester United from Leicester City back in 2019 for £80 million and became the world's most expensive defender.
He has made 149 appearances for the Red Devils but his time at the club has been marred by constant criticism.
The defender has three years left on his current deal at Old Trafford.
Manchester United manager Ten Hag sent Maguire a message earlier this season
Varane's impressive performances for Manchester United this season have seen him become Ten Hag's first choice centre-back alongside Martinez.
The former Real Madrid defender is living up to expectations following a somewhat unremarkable debut campaign at Old Trafford last season.
Ten Hag said when selecting Varane instead of club-captain Maguire (via Guardian):
"(It) doesn’t mean when you are captain you are established to always play. Especially when you also have Varane in your squad. We have options. Varane: his stature is immense and in pre-season we took a decision to build him physically so he had a bit of a slow start."
He added:
"He was fit in the first games but in the first period of pre-season he wasn’t always so we are happy we built him in that way.”
