Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has stated that captain Harry Maguire must make a decision on his future with the club.

This season, the 30-year-old England defender made only 16 Premier League appearances for United.

Ten Hag’s favoured center-back partnership in his first season at Old Trafford has been Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.

“No one would be pleased with this situation,” Ten Hag told The New York Times.

“He’s not doing so great. He always trains at his peak, putting in his all.

“So he handles that situation well, and in that manner, and in his captaincy, he’s important for the squad.”

Maguire has made some costly mistakes this season, most recently in Sevilla’s 3-0 Europa League defeat last month.

“He has a lot of competition there [at center-back] with Raphael Varane, who’s fantastic,” Ten Hag remarked.

“Let’s just say I’m glad he’s here, and he did his job when we needed him.” But it’s also a choice he must make.”

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Maguire joined United from Leicester in 2019 for £80 million, a world record sum for a defender, and his contract extends until 2025.

He started all five of England’s World Cup games in 2022 and has been named to the Euro qualifiers, but manager Gareth Southgate has expressed concern about his lack of playing time at United.

De Gea, David
Manchester United’s current longest-serving player is David de Gea, who has been with the club since 2011.
While Ten Hag would not clarify whether Maguire would be a United player next season, the former Ajax manager did confirm that goalkeeper David de Gea would remain with the club for the 2023-24 season.

De Gea has been the club’s first-choice keeper this season, winning the Golden Glove award for the most Premier League clean sheets.

Ten Hag responded, “Yes, but I will not say he will always be my number one because in a club like United, there must be competition in all positions.”

United face Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, hoping to prevent their city rivals’ bid to repeat Sir Alex Ferguson’s team’s 1999 Treble.

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