Manchester United’s new manager Erik ten Hag has officially named his club captain for the season, confirming that Harry Maguire will continue to wear the armband for the Red Devils.
The England international has been United’s captain for some time now, having been given the role under previous manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, though many fans will not be too pleased with Ten Hag’s decision here.
Maguire was poor for much of last season, and doesn’t necessarily seem like an obvious candidate to be the leader of such a big club.
Still, it seems Ten Hag thinks highly of the player, as he’s announced he won’t be making a change to the captaincy…
Former Man Utd midfielder Luke Chadwick recently spoke to CaughtOffside and suggested that giving someone else the captain’s armband could actually be good for Maguire and help him focus on his football.
“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,” Chadwick said.
MORE: Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive update on De Jong, Eriksen and Antony to Man United
“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.
“It’s understandable that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chose him to be captain, but now you’d have to say his form has gone downhill since then. It’s disappointing, but I think it could be the best decision for everyone moving into next season.”