Harry Maguire’s renaissance will not surprise any Manchester United fans who were left frustrated by many of Erik ten Hag’s decisions.
Ten Hag got many things wrong at United and one of the biggest clangers he dropped was discarding Maguire so brutally in the summer of 2023. Ten Hag tried to drive him out of Old Trafford, thinking new signing Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane would be his centre-half pairing, and United agreed a £30million deal with West Ham.
The former United boss even stripped Maguire of the captaincy, handing it to Bruno Fernandes, to underline in bold marker pen that the Sheffield-born defender was not part of his plans. Maguire endured his public humiliation and turned West Ham down, promising United fans on social media, “I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.”
Compare that to Marcus Rashford’s public stand-off after Amorim axed him. The England centre-half lived up to his word last season before a calf injury towards the end of the campaign ruled him out of Euro 2024.
He suffered a muscle injury in October and his prayers were answered when he returned to fitness in December because Ruben Amorim had replaced ten Hag. Amorim was going through a turbulent start of his United reign and Maguire provided the team with the leadership they so desperately needed.
Amorim chucked him in against Manchester City and Erling Haaland at the Etihad – and he won all his ground duels and tackles as well as making five interceptions. Maguire has only grown in importance and authority since – and he was exceptional in United’s last two games at Liverpool and Arsenal.
He is ideal for Amorim’s three-at-the-back philosophy, and anchors the defence, with Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt either side of him. Amorim is a convert and he said: “Maguire is perfect when you play with three defenders.”
Maguire, 31, says Amorim told him it was a “no brainer” to extend his contract by a year to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2026 when he would surely have been shown the door this summer if Ten Hag had stayed. Maguire has led from the front, as he has done all his career since making his debut for his hometown club Sheffield United in 2011.
It is striking he has stepped up in a season when Fernandes has been sent off three times. Maguire’s passion did boil over when Kai Havertz dived to win a penalty on Sunday and he shoved Gabriel out of the way to give the Arsenal star an earful of abuse. Again, that was him setting an example for his team-mates to follow.
Let’s be clear – Maguire is no Virgil van Dijk and he is not the sort of ball-playing centre-half many Premier League managers admire. He is a throwback defender and he does exactly what it says on the tin.
He is an old-styled British centre-half, who wins his headers and his tackles and provides the leadership any team wants. Amorim certainly values him and Maguire will have a key role as the Portuguese instills his style on United.
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