Ten Hag praised for ‘smart’ Maguire decision as Man Utd star is told to look for club that ‘respects him’
Erik ten Hag has been praised for his decision to strip Harry Maguire of the captaincy as the Manchester United star is told to look for a new club.
The England international has only featured sparingly under Ten Hag as he played just 762 minutes of Premier League football last season.
Bruno Fernandes seems the likely choice to receive the armband after Maguire, but a final decision has not yet been made.
Louis Saha has had his say on the situation and he believes the 30-year-old should push for a move so that he keeps his spot in the England squad.
READ: Are Man Utd wasting their time or is it reasonable to ask £50m for Harry Maguire?
“One thing about Harry is that he’s not lost his confidence in himself, which is good. You can see that he remains very professional, he’s focused, he can deal with a lot of criticism and he’s shown that he’s strong mentally,” Saha told Betfred.
“These are the traits that got him the captaincy at Manchester United. Only Harry knows what he wants to do in his career, but I believe the logical step for him is to look for a club that respects him, respects his status and is going to give him the chance to play his way into England’s starting eleven at Euro 2024.
“Harry should be one of England’s biggest assets going into that tournament, so he needs to think about what he wants to achieve in his career because it’s not helpful being on the bench for Manchester United.”
Saha has also praised Ten Hag to wait until the end of the season to make his mind up on the captaincy situation.
“I believe it would have been harsh of Erik ten Hag to have stripped Harry Maguire of the captaincy during the season, but it’s a new era and I believe Harry will understand the decision because it makes sense to give the captaincy to a player that inspires, has the confidence of the manager and that starts almost every game.
“It would also be smart to have a captain that doesn’t attract so much attention from the media too.”
Maguire has been linked with several Premier League sides, although Man Utd’s reported asking price of £50m is deemed to be far too high.
The 30-year-old is also a high-earner at the club and so finding a team that is willing to match his current contract could also prove tough.
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