FORGET RONALDO... DE GEA IS THE MAN TO TAKE MAGUIRE’S ARMBAND

RALF RANGNICK has said Harry Maguire will be his captain until the end of the season.

Fair enough.

Obviously, Rangnick would need a temporary captain if he decided that Maguire was not worthy of a place in the starting 11 at any point.

But if the England man is out there, he is the skipper, it seems.

However, there is still a decision to be made in the summer by whoever takes over from Rangnick.

Or by Rangnick himself, in the extremely unlikely event of him staying on as manager.

For what it is worth, I believe Maguire has good leadership skills.

Those of us who were allowed into matches during lockdown soon had the opportunity to realise that Maguire is certainly the most vocal of the United players, if that’s how you like your captains.

There is always a balance to be struck when a manager is considering the armband.

Maguire’s form this season has been patchy, to say the very least. Several of his contributions have deservedly come under critical scrutiny, to put it politely.

There is an argument to say that he should be relieved of captaincy duties going forward so that he can fully concentrate on his game. There is also an argument to say that taking the honour away from him would only serve to further damage his confidence.

But if, ahead of next season, the Manchester United manager finds the first of those arguments more compelling, then Maguire should not be replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo.

He should be replaced by David de Gea (left).

After the win over Brighton

Of all the United players, De Gea – as one of only two survivors from the squad that last won a Premier League title and as an 11-season veteran – is probably the one most stung by the current mediocrity last Tuesday, all the talk was of Ronaldo breaking his goal drought in nice style and United players giving the referee a hard time.

De Gea’s feedback on the match became a little lost, but the gist of it was to say that while they would fight on for a top-four slot, they really ought to remember that Manchester United should be fighting for something grander than that.

Of all the United players, De Gea, as one of only two survivors from the squad that last won a Premier League title and as an 11-season veteran, is probably one who is stung most by the current mediocrity.

And that is one of the reasons why he would make a decent captain.

Among the others is that he is a fine example to the rest.

Having stared down the very live threat to his place being from by Dean Henderson, De Gea is the most important member of Rangnick’s squad. With 92 saves, he has made more than any other Premier League keeper ahead of this round, and on Opta’s measure of likely goals prevented, he is also top of the charts.

That says a lot about United’s vulnerability, granted.

But it also says an awful lot about De Gea.

He is world class and, at the age of 31, still has several prime years to come.

Such has been his form so far this season, that if the Football Writers Association was to vote for its Footballer of the Year today, De Gea would have a decent shout of becoming the first goalkeeper to win that award since Neville Southall in 1985.

De Gea is a class act.

And if whoever takes over at United in the summer decides Harry should focus solely on his own form, then Dave should be *his man.