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Harry Maguire part of future?!

He seems to thinks so

Yuveer Madanlal
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26/7/2024
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6 min read

This isn't Maguire's fault, let me just begin by saying that.

However, if he truly thinks this, then we have a problem.

Earlier today, Harry Maguire came out with some pretty confident quotes regarding his future at the club while on pre-season tour in Los Angeles.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the defender said that "everything I've heard is that I'm part of the future here at Man United", which came amid exit talks.

Maguire added that "I'm ready to fight for the biggest trophies".

With one year left on his current deal, the centre-back also said that should "they [the club] come to me and say thhey don't want me anymore, of course I'll look for options elsewhere.

But that's never been told to me. Full focus on winning trophies here."

As I said, some pretty strong words from Harry.

Leny Yoro in pre-season training in Los Angeles | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)

The defender also spoke about new recruit Leny Yoro and how "we must remind ourselves he is really young." More on the 18-year-old, Maguire says that "there are gonna be mistakes, but he has every attribute of a centre-back in the modern game, so I'm sure he's gonna have a bright future", The Athletic.

Harry Maguire also said while on tour, that his injury that kept him out of the FA Cup final and Euro 2024 tournament was "toughest moment of his career."

Christian Eriksen also spoke to Sky about the new co-owners and how "INEOS have helped, it [takeover and INEOS] has brought a calmness."

The midfielder's future is also undecided as there have been links to his former club Ajax in a loan deal, according to reports.

On his future, Eriksen says that "It depends on what's coming and what's going. But I'm really happy, my family have settled in Manchester." He also mentioned how he would like to play as much as possible and that he "still wants to be the football guy, and not the social guy."

Final Thoughts

Two players that are on the peripheral of the United first team speaking very positively about their futures especially in Harry Maguire's case.

This gives me the perfect opportunity to vent.

I have been frustrated. Quite frustrated.

After having seen the business INEOS had done with Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, removing players such as Donny van de Beek, Willy Kambwala and Mason Greenwood, and the speed at which all these incomings and outgoings were done, I (and I think us all) felt really optimistic about this transfer window and subsequent future of the club.

However, it has been over a week since the club officially announced Leny Yoro as a player and we've done nothing since. We even had Fabrizio Romano come out and say that Manuel Ugarte has agreed personal terms with the club.

A week has passed and we've had no advancements on that deal (or any deal) since Romano posted that about an hour after Yoro's unveiling.

United have a lot of players that need to be sold whether it's because of wages, age, quality or a combo of these, there are a group of players that realistically don't have much of a future at United, Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen among them.

This is where that frustration comes in.

As it looks like we need to sell to buy, the fact that we can't move players on is slowing us down in the transfer market. Not being able to bring in new and better players (at least at the moment) means that we will most likely not see much improvement to last season and probably struggle to get into the top 4 in my opinion.

I feel that our squad is made up of too many 'squad players' who, if I'm brutally honest, aren't even good enough for the squad.

Harry Maguire, Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are chief among these players.

Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the 19/20 season | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal

They are players I feel lack that true ambition to go elsewhere and play regular first team football simply because they're too comfortable at United. It's not the players' faults as they were sold this project when they joined and were given outrageously high wages. It is their right to remain.

But won't the footballer in you be screaming for first team football? Won't a part of you long for the field when you aren't regularly on it?

And this is what I mean.

None of those players I mentioned are considered starters and when looking at the players the club want to bring in, they would be ahead of these five players dropping them even further down the pecking order.

So where would the likes of Maguire, Eriksen and the rest play?

They will most likely be 4th- or 5th-choice with their arses firmly on the bench.

So I don't get that sort of mentality when it looks like they won't get that much game time and they still want to stay.

Willy Kambwala is a great example of a player who wants to play consistent first team football. I would've liked to him to stay and I feel like perhaps he would've too. But given the fact that he may have been that 5th-choice centre-back, he probably decided that it was time for him to move in search of a first team berth.

Ambition by the youngster. I like it 👍.

That's what I'd like for some of these to do.

I'm not sure why Harry Maguire feels like he's a part of the future when Lisandro Martinez and new signing Leny Yoro will start and if we were to bring in Matthijs De Ligt, both Maguire and Lindelof will be either 4th- or 5th-choice. Do you really want that to be your career for the forseeable future at 30+ years old?

Scott McTominay is another one. At 27, he is now in the prime of his career and he too is a 4th- or 5th-choice option at best in midfield. We still have Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes (who will be the starting midfield three at this point), Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount and potentially Sofyan Amrabat. All those players I believe are better than the Scotsman as they offer more and are more able to play the style the manager wants.

United are also linked with quite a few midfielders such as Manuel Ugarte, Martin Zubimendi, and more recently, Youssof Fofana and Richard Rios.

Of course we aren't going to bring in all of them and keep those that we have but out of those that we have, Scotty is one of the more sell-able players hence the interest in him from Fulham. I think that would be a great move for him. Good club, will get more game time and he stays in the Premier League.

Why wouldn't he want that move?

I know Erik ten Hag said he is un-sellable and all that but he isn't really going to come out and say he wants to get rid of him.

Now what I will say in the defense of these players is that it is more the club's fault than theirs.

Giving them these large wages and not being brutally honest with them about their futures causes them to think that maybe I do have a chance in the first team.

Or maybe it's the fact that United are struggling to get in players in their positions and are making it known to a Maguire or McTominay that they are valued in the squad.

Whatever the case is, to be having so many of these players remain at United and think that they are part of the future will work against us.

We will have less chances of bringing in new and better players that will actually improve the squad and increase our chances of competing at the highest level.

I mean, we got rid of players that needed to go, players left who wanted to leave and all we've done is basically bring in an Anthony Martial replacement with Joshua Zirkzee and a Rapha Varane replacement in Leny Yoro.

Have we truly done anything?

Background Image: Harry Maguire | Creator: Jan Kruger | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Getty Images via Man Utd News

Yuveer Madanlal

Yeah, I can talk and talk and talk about the things I love, like football and United, as you can see in this post. Once I get on a roll, it's pretty hard to stop me. This is all coming from a guy who doesn't talk that much. How weird.

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