Ten Hag agreed to offload two of three players Evra told to leave Man Utd
Erik ten Hag appears to have finally taken Patrice Evra's advice and parted ways with two of the three players the Frenchman urged to leave Manchester United last year.
Ex-United left-back Evra has never been one to shy away from saying exactly what he thinks and that was no different in the aftermath of the Red Devils' 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford in the early stages of last season. The club legend claimed that it would be for the best if Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw all left the club.
Nearly exactly a year later, United boss Ten Hag is on the verge of leaving Shaw the only man still standing from that trio. Ronaldo is long gone, having burnt his bridges at Old Trafford with an explosive interview in the winter of last year that left his position at the club untenable.
Now, it seems as if Maguire is next on the chopping block, with the much-maligned central defender thought to be on the verge of a £30million move to West Ham. The switch represents a new start for the England international, a clean slate where he can rebuild his reputation after a difficult four years at Old Trafford.
Following that win against the Reds last year, in which none of the aforementioned trio started, Evra told Betfair: "Let's be clear, I can say people are too harsh on Harry Maguire, but he is paying the price for his transfer fee. From that day, I said he is going to have the most difficult season for United because people only looked at the price. If we bought him for £5m, people would say he's an amazing centre-back. We all have bad games, but now we've got to a point where even if he has a good game people are not happy. So there's negativity around him.
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"The Cristiano Ronaldo saga is another issue. Is he staying? Is he leaving? It's created a lot of confusion with fans. He's still here, the transfer window isn't closed but I think, personally knowing Cristiano, if he doesn't play he would like to leave. I think this would be the best for him and for United.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Was Evra's review of the situation fair on Maguire? Comment below
Harry Maguire is leaving Manchester United for West Ham (Getty Images)"We've been playing Luke Shaw for so many years and I'm really careful when I talk about left-backs because I've been in this position and it's not an easy position. Luke Shaw has been here for so many years and he hasn't matched the standard set by Dennis Irwin or myself, and I think left-back is a really crucial position for United. Maybe it's time for those players to go."
Though Shaw isn't going anywhere anytime soon and has since kicked on to become one of the best left-backs in the league, the end is near for Maguire.
The fact that United, who forked out £80m on Maguire in 2019, were willing to cut their losses by £50m and accept the Hammers' offer is a damning indictment of how far the defender's stock has fallen not just in the eyes of fans, but in the eyes of Ten Hag.
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