Manchester United’s new head coach Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Harry Maguire will remain as the club’s captain for next season even though many of the players and fans dose not like him again.
The head coach said he doesn’t see the England defender retaining the skipper as an issue. Harry Maguire was under pressure for his place in the side last season, during a disappointing campaign for the club and the 29-year-old personally.
With Manchester United chasing Lisandro Martinez this summer Maguire will face more competition for his place and there had been speculation that the manager might appoint a new captain.
The former manager Ralf Rangnick who was an interim manager kept Maguire as captain during his interim reign but left him on the bench at times, with Bruno Fernandes standing in, and Ten Hag offered the central defender no guarantees in his first press conference in the job after the end of last season.
Fans have been asking the question of why the new manager has decided to leave him as the skipper but he said he does not see that as an issue. He said: “Harry Maguire is the captain. I have to get to know all the players, but he’s an established captain and he’s achieved a lot of success. I don’t see this as an issue.”
Harry Maguire will play some part against Liverpool in United’s first pre-season friendly tomorrow, in humid conditions in Bangkok, and Ten Hag is looking forward to seeing how his side gets on against a familiar foe. Speaking about the pre-season clash he said: “Playing against Liverpool is always exciting, it’s a big game, we are looking forward and it’s a really good test for us.”