Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has spoken out about how he is growing frustrated at his lack of game time so far this season, while dropping a clear hint that he is hopeful that he will feature for the club over the next few weeks. Injury problems are continuing to stack up at Old Trafford and Erik ten Hag may be left with no choice but to put his faith in his former captain.
Maguire has made three Premier League appearances so far this season, starting just a single match, despite injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and now Victor Lindelof. Instead, Ten Hag has selected veteran defender Jonny Evans more frequently – and the 35-year-old has played 59 minutes more than Maguire as a result.
West Ham were among the clubs to register an interest in signing Maguire over the summer, and the ex-Leicester City star is likely to be back in the shop window if his situation at United does not change. Speaking about his situation at the Theatre of Dreams, the centre-back explained: “If you look back on my last 15-20 starts for club and country, I would be happy to sit here and say I’m really happy with my performances.
“My record under this manager (Ten Hag) speaks for itself. I haven’t started as many games as I would like but my win percentage when I’ve played is ridiculously high. Of course, there are times when I could do more and times when I could improve and help the team. I can only do what I’ve been doing when I’ve come into the team … bringing positive performances.
“But I’m just wanting to help the team, I’m wanting to help the team get out of this position we’re in at the moment.” Maguire then hinted that he is hopeful of featuring more frequently for the Red Devils over the coming weeks due to the accumulating injury problems that Ten Hag is having to battle with in defence.
He explained: “I want to fight for my place but, of course, game time is really important to me. It’s not my decision whether I start the next game or not. I’m unsure about that.
