Despite troubles in his club career at Manchester United, Harry Maguire will continue to start for England at the international level, according to manager Gareth Southgate.
After losing his starting spot at Old Trafford, Maguire was demoted to fourth or fifth choice center-back at the start of the season. The defender’s £30 million summer transfer to West Ham nearly went through, but it fell through when Manchester United refused to agree to a settlement.
Because of his infrequent appearances, the 30-year-old was stripped of his United captaincy, and he began the new season behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Victor Lindelof. Despite this, Maguire was still named to Southgate’s England squad in late August.
He played the entire 90 minutes of Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine alongside the exceptional Marc Guehi. On Tuesday, England will play a friendly against Scotland. Matches against Australia, Italy, Malta, and North Macedonia are scheduled for the rest of 2023.
“He’s a very experienced player who looked great in practice.” Southgate said of Maguire after the Ukraine game, “Harry knows where our support is.”
“He knows he needs to keep performing well for us, and I think over the next few weeks, given what’s happening with their squad’s injuries, he may well have a lot more minutes for [Manchester United] as well,” a teammate said.
Varane suffered an injury during United’s most recent win over Nottingham Forest. Martinez missed Argentina’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador due to an early replacement against Arsenal. Luke Shaw, who was used sparingly as a center-back last season, has also been ruled out. Due to illness, Lindelof was forced to leave Arsenal’s game before the end.
Maguire finished the Arsenal defeat alongside Jonny Evans, resurrecting their previous pairing from the previous season at Leicester.
Despite troubles in his club career at Manchester United, Harry Maguire will continue to start for England at the international level, according to manager Gareth Southgate.
After losing his starting spot at Old Trafford, Maguire was demoted to fourth or fifth choice center-back at the start of the season. The defender’s £30 million summer transfer to West Ham nearly went through, but it fell through when Manchester United refused to agree to a settlement.
Because of his infrequent appearances, the 30-year-old was stripped of his United captaincy, and he began the new season behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Victor Lindelof. Despite this, Maguire was still named to Southgate’s England squad in late August.
He played the entire 90 minutes of Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine alongside the exceptional Marc Guehi. On Tuesday, England will play a friendly against Scotland. Matches against Australia, Italy, Malta, and North Macedonia are scheduled for the rest of 2023.
“He’s a very experienced player who looked great in practice.” Southgate said of Maguire after the Ukraine game, “Harry knows where our support is.”
“He knows he needs to keep performing well for us, and I think over the next few weeks, given what’s happening with their squad’s injuries, he may well have a lot more minutes for [Manchester United] as well,” a teammate said.
Varane suffered an injury during United’s most recent win over Nottingham Forest. Martinez missed Argentina’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador due to an early replacement against Arsenal. Luke Shaw, who was used sparingly as a center-back last season, has also been ruled out. Due to illness, Lindelof was forced to leave Arsenal’s game before the end.
Maguire finished the Arsenal defeat alongside Jonny Evans, resurrecting their previous pairing from the previous season at Leicester.
