Manchester United star Harry Maguire is reportedly waiting on Erik ten Hag’s future to decide on his own potential exit. He is waiting for the Dutchman to get sacked to decide if he has a future at the club under a potential new manager.
Maguire is still the most expensive defender in football, having joined the Red Devils from Leicester City for £80 million in 2019. He’s made 215 appearances for the club but has now entered the final year of his contract. He faced plenty of criticism in the 2022-23 season but showed improvement last season.
However, Maguire has now lost his starting place under Ten Hag to summer signing Matthijs de Ligt. He’s started six games across competitions for Manchester United this season and made nine overall appearances. He’s been linked with an exit for a while now. With his contract expiring next year, he is open to signing a pre-contract with foreign clubs in January for a potential summer transfer.
As per Football Insider (via Caught Offside), Maguire is now waiting to see if Ten Hag gets sacked to make a final decision on his future. The Dutchman has come under immense pressure, with the Red Devils sitting 11th in the Premier League table.
Erik ten Hag on Matthijs de Ligt incident during Manchester United’s win over Brentford
The Red Devils beat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday, October 19. Matthijs de Ligt started in defense for Manchester United. He suffered a head injury in the first half, which saw heavy bleeding. He received some treatment but the bleeding resumed after a few minutes.
De Ligt was asked to go off the field to receive treatment two more times as the bleeding didn’t stop. The second time, it came just before Brentford received a corner and they scored via Ethan Pinnock (45+5′) with De Ligt off the field. The Dutchman returned in the second half and completed the match.
After the match, Erik ten Hag was asked why De Ligt continued and he answered (via manutd.com):
“He was okay, that’s what he told me,” Ten Hag told the media after the final whistle. “That’s what I asked him when he came off: ‘Is there a problem?’ No, he was 100 per cent there, not any time [was] there a doubt to take him off.
“I wasn’t furious, but I just was asking my player how he is. He said ‘it’s just dry blood, it’s not bleeding’, so we are really surprised that he has to come off.”
Manchester United signed De Ligt from Bayern Munich in the summer for a reported fee of €50 million, including add-ons. He’s made 10 appearances across competitions and also scored one goal.
