13 November 2023 , 08:41
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Harry Maguire believes he was right to stay at Manchester United this summer.
The much-maligned England defender was tipped to leave Old Trafford during the summer transfer window and at one stage seemed on the verge of a switch to West Ham. The Hammers agreed a fee with United, but Maguire, despite being stripped of the club captaincy by Erik ten Hag, elected to stay put.
The £80million centre-back started the season warming the United bench, but injuries have handed him a chance to get a run of games under his belt. And he believes he has been vindicated with his decision to stay with the Red Devils.
"I played a few games last year, 16 or 17 starts, and I felt like I performed really well in the games I played in, I just didn't play as many as I would have liked," Maguire said. "On the other hand, Rapha [ Raphael Varane ] and Licha [Lisandro Martínez] were playing brilliantly and kept numerous clean sheets.
"I had to bide my time and be patient. I had two or three opportunities last season to get a run of games but I broke down with illness, I broke down with injuries twice, so I never got the rhythm and never got the run of games that I could prove myself to the manager. I have got that now.
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"I am really enjoying my football and I really enjoy playing for this club. I was willing to stay and fight for my place and we have four or five top international centre-backs at this club and the competition for places is really high."
It wasn't until Martinez sustained an injury, keeping the Argentina international sidelined for an extended period, that Maguire returned to the starting XI - waiting until October for his first start in the Premier League.
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Harry Maguire impressed again against Luton TownSpeaking ahead of Saturday's 1-0 win over Luton, Ten Hag highlighted the fight for minutes at the heart of the United defence, with Maguire getting the nod ahead of Raphael Varane.
"Last year, Harry didn’t play a lot," explained Ten Hag. "So, I was very happy with Rapha’s performance, and I have always been happy with his performance. But, in this moment, Harry is playing very good. There is internal competition."
Maguire remains a first choice pick for England boss Gareth Southgate and the 30-year-old is set to feature for the Three Lions in their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia in the coming fortnight.