24 April 2023 , 23:00
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Harry Maguire has been urged to join Aston Villa in the summer - as the Midlands outfit would be the perfect place for him to rebuild his reputation after a difficult spell at Manchester United.
Maguire, 30, has endured a difficult campaign after losing his spot in the team under Erik ten Hag and is expected to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season in a bid to play regular football elsewhere.
And Stan Collymore believes that Maguire could do worse than link up with his former club Aston Villa, who were linked with the England star back in January and have been on an upward trajectory under Unai Emery.
Collymore told CaughtOffside : “Although I think the criticism he receives is hugely unfair at times, I think Harry Maguire, for his own sake, has to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.
“He’s a quality centre-back who puts his body on the line, but he does have his limitations; it’s just a case of putting others around him to mask those areas of weakness, and personally, I think a team like Aston Villa are able to offer him that. I would love to see him at Villa Park – I’d drive him from Manchester to the Midlands myself if I could.
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“A club like Aston Villa and Maguire would be a match made in heaven – they’re big enough to match his ambition, they’ve got an experienced manager who could definitely get the best out of him and competition for Tyrone Mings would only be a positive thing.”
Despite losing his first-team spot to summer signing Lisandro Martinez, Maguire is still the Manchester United captain. The former Leicester man was handed a reprieve earlier this month when Martinez and Raphael Varane both picked up injuries - paving the way for Maguire to make a first-team return.
Join the debate! Where do you think Maguire will be playing his football next season? Let us know here.
Stan Collymore believes that a transfer to Aston Villa would be perfect for Harry Maguire (Getty Images)But he was heavily criticised for his role in one of the three goals that United gifted Sevilla last week as the LaLiga outfit dumped them out of the Europa League.
And former Old Trafford favourite Rio Ferdinand has warned Maguire that he could be leapfrogged in the pecking order by Luke Shaw after the left-back impressed again playing centrally in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final triumph over Brighton.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: “I don’t think he [Ten Hag] changes the team now in terms of the two centre-backs. I think how assured they looked - we weren’t on the ropes at any time.
“There might have been a glimmer for Brighton a couple of times and half sniffs but there wasn’t any panic at the back. [Ten Hag will] go off performance and go off today and I can’t see him changing that pairing unless Varane or Martinez come back fit.”