England defender, Harry Maguire is happy to stay back at Manchester United and fight for his place in Erik ten Hag’s starting lineup.
Despite reported offers from West Ham to join them in the summer, Maguire decided to stay back at United and the defender now feels vindicated over his decision after starting in the Red Devils’ last eight matches across all competitions.
The 30-year-old became an outcast ever since Ten Hag joined the club last season, having appeared in 16 Premier League games and clocked just 759 minutes on the pitch. Yet the English international never gave up. Since Lisandro Martinez got ruled out of action at the end of September, Maguire has become a mainstay in the club’s team sheet and he claimed that he is enjoying his football at the moment.
Speaking to ESPN, the former Leicester City player said, “I played a few games last year, 16 or 17 starts, and I felt like I performed really well in the games I played in, I just didn’t play as many as I would have liked. On the other hand, Rapha [Raphael Varane] and Licha [Lisandro Martinez] were playing brilliantly and kept numerous clean sheets.
“I had to bide my time and be patient. I had two or three opportunities last season to get a run of games but I broke down with illness, I broke down with injuries twice, so I never got the rhythm and never got the run of games that I could prove myself to the manager. I have got that now. I am really enjoying my football and I really enjoy playing for this club. I was willing to stay and fight for my place and we have four or five top international centre-backs at this club and the competition for places is really high.”
He added, “Working hard in training is the main thing and making sure you’re ready. I started 16 or 17 games last year and felt like my form was there. There was a lot of talk about me because I wasn’t playing games, but that is the way it is. I was playing well for my country, went to the World Cup and played well and always thought my form was there. But I am up against some top, top-level centre-backs and last year they were playing amazing, so I didn’t get as many opportunities as I would have liked. This club demands competition for places and that is what we have in my position.”
The centre back will be next seen in action for the Three Lions as they take on Malta on November 17 in a Euro 2024 qualifying game
