He’s becoming something of a polarising figure at Man United over the last few months, but now, like it or not, Harry Maguire is going to be front and centre for the Red Devils for the rest of the season.
That’s because, as the official Man United website noted, Lisandro Martinez will miss the rest of the campaign with a fractured metatarsal bone and Raphael Varane is likely to miss a ‘few weeks.’
It’s hardly ideal preparation for a Premier League run-in, but Erik ten Hag absolutely needs to get the best out of his captain now.
Much maligned for a series of poor club performances earlier in the season, Maguire nevertheless is often head and shoulders – literally and metaphorically – above his England colleagues in international games.
It’s that form which he needs to bring to the Red Devils’ matches if he wants to re-establish his defensive credentials in the final few games of the 2022/23 season.
Even if he knows that ten Hag will sell him in the summer, a few ‘shop window’ performances won’t do Maguire any harm at all, and if it helps to secure a guaranteed Champions League spot for Man United, it’ll be seen as a successful end to the campaign.
Given he’s likely to be playing every minute of every Premier League game now, Maguire certainly has the opportunity to shut a few mouths who have been only too happy to portray the centre-back in the worst possible light.