With Bruno Fernandes taking over as permanent captain for the 2023–24 season, the 30-year-old was recently relieved of his captaincy duties at Old Trafford.
Maguire only made eight starts in Premier League games last year, and during the current transfer window, he is still frequently mentioned as a possible transfer target.
Newcastle United and West Ham United are rumored to be interested in the England international, but a recent report claimed that Ten Hag wants to keep the defender for the upcoming campaign.
Now that Maguire’s predicament has been brought up, the Dutchman asserted that the choice to remove the armband from him may aid the former Sheffield United youth in rediscovering his finest form.
In his news conference on Friday, Ten Hag told reporters, “I think everyone can understand that it’s a disappointment for a player, but it can also work out very well for the team and Harry.”
Harry is a key participant. We have four center-backs, but we only need three, possibly two. We played a lot of games the previous season, so having Harry on our team makes us very happy.
Then Ten Hag was questioned about how removing Maguire’s wristband may be advantageous.
“Because not any more captaincy, so less responsibility in that perspective but we need more than 11 players, we need that competition. He can fight himself in the team, he has the potential, I have said it often,” said the Dutchman ahead of Saturday’s clash with Arsenal.
“It’s about prevention, just like a keeper. You must be prodded into action.
Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, and Luke Shaw were all selected ahead of Maguire in central defense last season, making him probably Old Trafford’s fifth-choice center-back.
Although Varane and Martinez may once again start the preseason game against Arsenal, the Englishman is anticipated to have a part in it. The first-choice center-backs are finally well and available after injury issues in the second half of the last season.