10 September 2023 , 16:56
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England manager Gareth Southgate has tipped Harry Maguire to earn more minutes at Manchester United in the coming weeks despite a mixed display against Ukraine on Saturday.
The much-maligned central defender didn't have his worst evening for the Three Lions in their most recent clash, but was left found wanting in the build-up for Ukraine's goal, scored by Arsenal ace Oleksandr Zinchenko. Thankfully for Maguire, Kyle Walker spared his blushes and levelled the scoring soon after.
Southgate was pressed for comment on his controversial selection of Maguire given the 30-year-old has played just 23 minutes of league football so far this season. The response from the England boss certainly raised some eyebrows.
"He [Maguire] knows he has to continue to play well for us and I think over the next few weeks, given what's going on with their squad with the injuries, he could well have a lot more minutes for them too," Southgate explained. It is unclear what injuries he is referring to, with the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof all fit to play as things stand.
Maguire has endured a difficult year-and-a-half at Old Trafford which has seen him fall below the aforementioned trio in the pecking order and he came very close to ending his United stay altogether this summer. The Red Devils had accepted a £30m offer from West Ham for the defender, but Maguire failed to reach an agreement on personal terms with the Hammers and the deal collapsed.
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His reluctance to leave the club has seemingly irked some sections of the United faithful, who have long felt the standard of Maguire's performances have not been at the level required for a club vying for the game's biggest honours. Not everyone is convinced that is a fair assessment however, with Arsenal legend Martin Keown leaping to the defence of the 30-year-old.
"I do feel he [Maguire] gets a lot of unfair criticism," Keown told talkSPORT . "I do feel he's a scapegoat for the Manchester United supporters. "I do feel that things have not got much better since he has come out of the team.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Maguire unfairly scapegoated by Man Utd fans? Comment below
Harry Maguire has long been the subject of intense criticism (Getty Images)"Talking about driving buses through teams, and I think you could do that at Manchester United at the moment. It is really the midfield that is the issue and Harry Maguire is not necessarily the problem."
Maguire's only minutes so far this season came during last Sunday's dramatic defeat away at Arsenal. The fact that the scores were level at the time of his introduction but the game ended 3-1 to the Gunners will not do much to help his reputation of being error-prone.