Double trouble for Maguire
Knee injury may end his season and Rangnick casts doubt over captaincy
H“The team should elect the captain”
ARRY MAGUIRE suffered a double blow yesterday as it emerged that his season may be over due to a knee injury and Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick proposed putting his captain up for re-election.
United’s growing injury list means that Rangnick only has 14 senior outfield players to choose from for tonight’s clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Rangnick said that Maguire’s knee problem is only ‘a niggle’, but Sportsmail understands it could keep him out of United’s remaining four fixtures. That would be a fitting end to a miserable season for the England defender who has faced criticism over his form and questions over his suitability to remain as United captain.
Rangnick fuelled that debate yesterday when asked if he would recommend Maguire as skipper to new manager Erik ten Hag.
‘I strongly believe the captain should be elected by the team,’ said Rangnick. ‘In Germany we always had a board of four or five players elected by the players.
‘That’s what I would do if I was still the manager next season, but I’m not. This is something that Erik will have to decide.’
United will be in the market for a centre back this summer, casting doubt over Maguire’s future at Old Trafford just three years after an £80million move from Leicester.
Rangnick put the 29-year-old on the bench at Arsenal on Saturday after a threat was made to bomb his family home if he did not leave United within 72 hours.
With Maguire joining Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Fred and Luke Shaw on the injury list, Rangnick admitted he may have to include some young players in the squad to face Chelsea. Jadon Sancho also has tonsillitis and Aaron Wan-Bissaka faces a late fitness test.
‘Right now we have 14 of our professional team available, and probably three or four young players will be part of the squad,’ said Rangnick.
Having written off United’s topfour hopes, he acknowledged that it might be ‘an advantage’ for Ten Hag not to be in the Europa League or Europa Conference League next season. However, Rangnick urged his players to be professional. ‘This is our job, that we try to get the best possible results and then see in which position we will finish,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea need only minor changes this summer, rather than the open-heart surgery Rangnick says Manchester United require.
Asked what treatment Chelsea need, Tuchel laughed: ‘Cosmetic surgery… as soon as we can act we will try to turn things round and make it from a disadvantage to an advantage. It is not possible that a new owner comes in and says, “Go wild, here is £250million — go and spend it”.’