- Maguire struggling at Man Utd
- Southgate fires a warning to defender
- England spot at threat
WHAT HAPPENED? The England international has slipped down the pecking order behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane at Old Trafford. Moreover, manager Erik ten Hag even used left-back Luke Shaw as a makeshift centre-back ahead of Maguire at times last season, and his involvement was limited to just eight Premier League starts.
Considering the circumstances, England manager, Southgate, has expressed uncertainty over future England call-ups for Maguire and pushed him to make a decision about his future, which would enable the defender to play more minutes.
WHAT THEY SAID: "We're in the tough world of professional football He's got two World Cup winners in the team ahead of him. [Raphael] Varane and [Lisandro] Martinez are top level players, when you're at the big clubs you're always going to be challenged, they're going to sign players every summer, you've got to compete for your position and you've got to take that battle on. If you're Manchester United you want good backup as well, you're going to get injuries, they've got Champions League football as well as trying to push for the Premier League," he stated totalkSPORT.
"If he's not in the team he's got a decision to make as to whether he can go and play regular football somewhere else. Put England aside, the start point for any player is are they fulfilled in their job. Most players want to play every week," he added.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Southgate recognised the successful partnership of Maguire and John Stones for England but also admitted that he might have to take a tough call ahead of Euro 2024 with the emergence of talented young centre-backs who could offer new challenges.
"It depends on how other players at other clubs are doing. I can never guarantee a player we're going to pick them. It's [Maguire and John Stones] a partnership that's worked brilliantly for us, so we recognise that, but there's always new challenges coming through. There are some good young centre backs coming through who are slowly picking up experience and that is going to be the challenge going forward," he stated.
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WHAT NEXT? Maguire faces a crucial decision regarding his future as there is interest from West Ham. Southgate did start him during both of England's recent Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and Macedonia in June, but things could change in the September international window if he continues to be a bench-warmer under Ten Hag.