Erik ten Hag and Gareth Southgate have both sent Harry Maguire same message about future

If the message wasn’t clear enough by the splinters in his backside from sitting on the Manchester United bench, surely Gareth Southgate’s words will have resonated with Harry Maguire.

The time to move on from Old Trafford is now. For the first time not only is his club career at stake, but also his England one.
Three Lions boss Southgate has shown patience with Maguire’s lack of football and kept him as his preferred pairing alongside John Stones for the World Cup and until this month.

But before the recent qualifier against North Macedonia, and after, Southgate’s statement couldn’t have been much clearer. There’s competition now at centre-back for England for the first time since Maguire took hold of the shirt. No longer is it just Eric Dier behind him, there’s now Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, Aston Villa’s resurgent Tyrone Mings and Brighton’s Lewis Dunk pushing.

Southgate even name-checked Taylor Harwood-Bellis, the 21-year-old Manchester City defender who helped Burnley get to the Premier League, when talking about his centre-back options going forward. Maguire may feel like leaving Old Trafford now will mean his chance to prove he wasn’t an £80m flop will vanish.

But, at 30, he now has to leave to prove that he is still a top defender. Southgate obviously thinks so even if Erik ten Hag clearly does not. Mistakes have been too common, chances to prove himself have not been taken at United. It began badly under Ten Hag when United conceded six in their first two games in defeats by Brighton and Brentford.

He wasn’t the only one at fault but he never got a proper look in again. His introduction against Sevilla in April when Raphael Varane got injured came at 2-0 to United. By the time the two-legged Europa League tie was over, United had lost 5-2. Maguire had an unfortunate own goal to his name, and some horror goalkeeping from David de Gea to thank but it felt like those two matches were the nail in the coffin for his career at Old Trafford.

Prospective clubs shouldn’t be put off, though. Maguire can defend but playing out from the back and pressing forward may not be his best strengths. Those interested in him should also look at his character. Lesser men, as club captain, may have thrown their toys out of the pram when time and time again they were left on the bench.