Pundit claims Ten Hag is trying to force Maguire out of Man Utd; tipped for Spurs transfer

Former striker Dean Saunders has suggested Harry Maguire is being forced out of Man Utd by Erik ten Hag with Tottenham an ideal move for the England international.

Maguire has been out of favour under Ten Hag during his time at the club with the Red Devils captain not showing top form over the past couple of seasons.

Ten Hag has preferred Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his centre-back partnership, while he even used left-back Luke Shaw there over Maguire in their 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.

And now former Liverpool striker Saunders thinks Ten Hag is attempting to get Maguire to leave the club, he told talkSPORT: “If you are trying to get a player out of the club, there are a few ways a manager can do it. You call him in, look him in the eye and say ‘you are never going to play for this football club again, you might as well leave’.

“The player has got signing on fees due, if he asks for a transfer then he loses all his signing on fees.

“The player is not going to ask for a transfer, he’s going to wait to see what you do.

“Then another one, you’ve got a striker sitting on the bench and you bring a centre-back on or someone who has never scored a goal ever for the club. That’s what he [Ten Hag] is doing to Harry Maguire.”

Tottenham’s defence has been criticised this season and Saunders reckons the Man Utd captain would go straight into Antonio Conte’s side “tomorrow”.

Saunders added: “He’s better than what Spurs have got. If he was at Spurs he would be in the team tomorrow.”

And last week former Man Utd defender Rio Ferdinand hinted that Maguire will probably be “looking for a new club” if his playing time on the pitch doesn’t increase.

Ferdinand said: “It raised eyebrows when you saw Lindelof and Maguire on the bench. It shows what Ten Hag thinks of those two guys.

“If I’m Harry Maguire, I’m looking for a new club right now. He’s faultless for England, but at United it hasn’t worked out for him.

“This new manager is showing him he’s not going to be one of the top two centre-backs.

“I’d be telling my agent to go and find me a new club where I can play regularly and enjoy my football.”

READ MORE: Kane to Man Utd: Ten Hag needs January striker stopgap before perfect summer match