By Samuel A. July 23, 2023
Harry Maguire has revealed he has been stripped of the Manchester United captaincy by Erik ten Hag. The England defender retained the armband last season, despite losing his place in the team’s first 11, falling to fourth choice in pecking order. The decision to denounce him as captain also comes with United willing to listen to offers for the 30 year old English international.
West Ham have shown their interest in Maguire, but their proposal of a loan, potentially with an option to buy, is unlikely to appeal to United at this stage, and his ‘heavy’ wages are part of what could make the deal difficult. He, as well as the rest of the squad, received a considerable salary increase as a result of United qualifying for the Champions League, and that means it is more challenging to find a new club. It is understood he has given mixed messages to West Ham regarding a readiness to join, but he will need regular games to stand a chance of retaining his place for England. He would only leave for what he considers the right club and he’s also ready to stay and fight for his place if he concludes that is the best option.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain,” Maguire tweeted. “He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt. So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful, on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjær for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.”
Manchester United also released a statement : “Everyone at Manchester United thanks Harry for his contribution as captain over the past three and half years. The manager will announce the new captain in due course, after he has informed the players.”
Ten Hag’s courage to take decisions was applauded by many, including Man United defender Raphael Varane, who talked about how the manager isn’t scared of making decisions. In his words : “He’s not scared to take these decisions and take that responsibility. That is what we expect from the manager. He did it so I think, with things like this, you show by example. He knows exactly what he wants. He’s shown that determination and from the first day we’ve known exactly what we’ve had to do and where he wants to go. It’s all clear for the players and for the team and we have a good connection with the manager.”
The club hopes to sell Maguire and other fringe players to increase the money available for signings. Mason Mount has joined from Chelsea for an initial £55m, which amounts to almost half his £120m budget. They also completed the Andre Onana deal on Thursday, and are not done yet on the transfer market, as they look forward to finding a new striker. They have shown interest in Atalanta’s Rasmus Højlund lately
