Harry Maguire will no longer be the captain of Manchester United, confirming the decision amid links with a move to Chelsea and Tottenham this summer
Harry Maguire is no longer the captain of Manchester United (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
Harry Maguire has confirmed that he is no longer the captain of Manchester United after holding conversations with manager Erik ten Hag.
It comes after a season where the England international rarely featured for the Red Devils, who often relied on a centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. When the pair suffered injury issues, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof were called upon ahead of Maguire, perhaps showing his place in the pecking order.
With the plans of pushing forward in their second season under Ten Hag, the ruthless decision to change their current captain has been confirmed. Taking to social media, Maguire said: “After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.
“So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date.
“It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful – on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.”
The 30-year-old has been linked with an exit from Old Trafford in the transfer window, with his playing time dwindling over the past few seasons. Chelsea are one of the sides that have been linked with a shock switch in recent weeks to help bolster their own backline.
That may be unlikely though, with Mauricio Pochettino likely to lean on the current options at his disposal when the new season starts next month. Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana almost certain to be involved, while football.london understands that the current stance on Levi Colwill is that he won’t be sold despite interest, though Trevoh Chalobah could make a move.
Tottenham are another side linked with a potential switch for Maguire as they are looking to change up their defensive options under new head coach Ange Postecoglou. Three options have been touted more heavily though, with Tosin Adarabioyo, Micky van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba all fitting the new style of play.
It remains to be seen whether either could make an approach in light of the new news of Maguire’s loss of captaincy at United, though that may be unlikely.
Soucre: football.london
