Man Utd: Solskjaer provides injury update on Luke Shaw
When Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave Harry Maguire the captaincy back in January, he thought it would take the England international’s game up a notch. For a while it worked, with the former Leicester star much improved after a shaky start to his Old Trafford career. But since the restart Maguire has struggled for consistency - giving the Red Devils a big defensive problem in the process.
Manchester United wanted to sign Maguire when Jose Mourinho was in charge, with the current Tottenham boss urging Ed Woodward to land the England international back in the summer of 2018.
In the end that didn’t happen, with Mourinho forced to settle for the arrivals of Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant instead.
United did finally succeed in signing Maguire last year, paying a huge £80million to bring the 27-year-old to Old Trafford.
For the most part, it’s been a successful signing.
Maguire has struck up a good connection with Victor Lindelof at the back, with the pair establishing themselves as Solskjaer’s first-choice defensive duo.
However, in recent weeks, the defender’s standards have slipped.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
And they’re beginning to cost United, who would be sitting comfortably in the Premier League top four had the 27-year-old not made a series of mistakes.
Against Tottenham, in the club’s first game back since the coronavirus crisis, Maguire was at fault.
The England international backed off Spurs winger Steven Bergwijn, allowing the former PSV Eindhoven winger to take a shot that squirmed under David De Gea.
Maguire made another error in the 5-2 victory over Bournemouth at Old Trafford at the start of the month.
On that occasion the centre-back was bamboozled by Junior Stanislas, who nutmegged the 27-year-old before shooting past David De Gea to give the Cherries the lead.
And, on Monday evening against Southampton, Maguire made another costly mistake.
He was mocked by fans for appearing to mark Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the corner that allowed the Saints to leave Old Trafford with a point to their name.
Maguire failed to command the area and take charge of the box, instead standing by idly as Michael Obafemi scored at the death.
And, now, his form has given United a major problem.
Lindelof is a solid centre-back but question marks have been asked of the Sweden international, too, and whether he’s good enough to help the club win the biggest trophies on offer.
Waiting in the wings is Eric Bailly who, on his day, can deliver.
But the Ivory Coast international blows hot and cold too often to start week in week out - something Solskjaer is fully aware of.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here