HARRY CAN HOLD HEAD HIGH
HARRY MAGUIRE can leave Manchester United with his head held high this summer – because he’s never let the club down. Former Old Trafford star David May believes the defender is at a crossroads in his career.
But May, a Treble winner with United in 1999, reckons Maguire should have no regrets if he ends up exiting after giving everything since his 2019 move to Old Trafford.
May (below) said: “Harry is at the biggest club in the world, in my opinion, and leaving somewhere like Old Trafford isn’t an easy thing to do, especially when you are captain.
“He’s lost his place to
Raphael Varane and
Lisandro Martinez who have both been outstanding and more than anyone, he will be thinking where his future lies.
“If he comes to the conclusion that he has to protect his career – and England place – and take the decision to move on I think he can leave with real dignity.
“He can walk out of Old Trafford with his head held high. He’s never let United or himself down and has always given full commitment.
“It’s not a nice situation to be in, I was in that position myself at United during my time at the club.
“It’s a horrible thing to say but you are wanting players ahead of you to have bad times.
“That’s just the nature of the beast. It’s a selfish mindset for every player. Of course Harry will want the team to play well, get in the Champions League and win the FA Cup.
“But he’ll also maybe hope players in his position play badly so he gets a chance, that’s just the reality of being a footballer. If he leaves I’m sure he’ll be in demand because he’s still a top player who’d get in 95 per cent of Premier League sides.”
So far, England boss Gareth Southgate has stuck by Maguire and took him to Qatar.
But of United’s 22 games since the World Cup late last year, the Englishman has only played in 12, with many of those appearances coming from the bench.
And May questions whether Maguire can expect to stay in the Three Lions set-up if he remains in a back-up role at United.
“You can see Maguire values his England career highly and Southgate recognises he’s never let his country down so he’s kept picking him when maybe some managers wouldn’t,” May said.
“There are internationals at the end of the month and Harry will be hoping he stays in the squad.
“We’ll have to see if he does, but long term, and with the Euro 2024 in Germany next year, it’s unrealistic to think he can remain an England player when not playing matches at United.”