Gareth Southgate has urged Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to give Harry Maguire more game time ahead of England's World Cup campaign. The defender started for the Three Lions in their 3-3 draw with Germany and was heavily criticised for giving away a penalty early in the second half.
Maguire has not started a league game since United's 4-0 defeat against Brentford in the second game of the season, with Ten Hag preferring a partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. Therefore, it came as a shock to many fans when Maguire was called up for and subsequently played in both of England's Nation League games this month.
But with a packed schedule in October, Ten Hag will likely need to rotate his team in the coming weeks and Southgate has now sent a message to the United manager about Maguire's role in the side.
"I know everybody says he’s important to me, he’s important to us! It’s us. It’s not me," he said.
"Why do we pick him? Because he’s one of the players who gives us the best chance of winning. So really we should all be wanting a Harry Maguire that’s playing regularly and playing with confidence. That applies to quite a few players but he’s the one everything lands on, which must be a tough space for him."
United's next match is the Manchester derby and so it is unlikely that Ten Hag will deviate from his preferred partnership of Varane and Martinez. But with two Europa League fixtures against Omonia Nicosia either side of a trip to Everton to come, there could be an opportunity for Maguire to try and play his way back into the Dutchman's thinking.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com