Harry Maguire remains calm over the captaincy situation at Manchester United, despite ongoing speculation that he could lose the armband under new manager Erik ten Hag.
Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the saga for his latest exclusive CaughtOffside column, insisting that no decision has been made yet by Ten Hag.
Maguire has struggled in his time at Old Trafford, and seems to be particularly affected by the weight of expectation that comes with being the skipper of this big club.
Romano thinks this one remains up in the air for now as Ten Hag continues to analyse his new team, but he also suggested that, in his view, Cristiano Ronaldo could be a great choice to lead the side next season.
“Erik ten Hag will speak to individual players and there will be a decision on Man United captain in the coming days or weeks,” Romano says.
“At the moment, I understand that Harry Maguire is very calm and not worried about Ten Hag’s decision, which would eventually be part of the start of a new technical project.
“Personally, I believe that Cristiano Ronaldo with his leadership can be an excellent captain but the internal decisions on these topics arise from many evaluations: I am sure that Ten Hag will be able to make the best choice.”
Time for Man Utd to change captain?
Speaking to CaughtOffside recently, former Red Devils midfielder Luke Chadwick also offered his take on the Maguire situation.
He felt that there could be some sense in removing the responsibility of the captaincy from Maguire, and named David de Gea as his preferred choice to take the armband.
“I’d be quite surprised if Maguire stays as captain,” Chadwick said. “De Gea would probably be the overwhelming favourite … Either way, I’d bet that it won’t be Harry Maguire leading them out next season.
“I think Harry would be disappointed to relinquish the captain’s armband, it’s such a huge honour to be the captain of a club like Man United. At the same time, I think it would free him up a bit to get back to his best.
“Last season was a disappointing one for him, he had a lot of stick, but we’ve seen in the past that he can be a top Premier League centre-half. Maybe taking that pressure away would let him concentrate on his performances.”