Harry Maguire will continue to start for England at the international level, according to manager Gareth Southgate, despite difficulties in his club career at Manchester United.
Maguire was demoted to fourth or fifth choice center-back at Old Trafford at the beginning of the season after losing his starting position there. The defender’s £30 million summer trade to West Ham nearly happened, but it fell through because Man Utd wouldn’t agree to a payoff.
Due to his seldom playing, the 30-year-old was also relieved of his United captaincy, and he started the new season behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Victor Lindelof. Even so, when Southgate’s England roster was unveiled in late August, Maguire was still included.
Alongside the outstanding Marc Guehi, he played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine. England will play Scotland in a friendly on Tuesday. Throughout the rest of 2023, matches are played against Australia, Italy, Malta, and North Macedonia.
“He’s an extremely seasoned player, and he looked great in practice. After the Ukraine game, Southgate stated of Maguire, “Harry knows where our support is.
“He knows he needs to keep performing well for us, and I think over the next few weeks, given what’s happening with their squad’s injuries, he may well have a lot more minutes for [Manchester United] as well,” said a teammate.
Varane was injured during United’s most recent victory over Nottingham Forest. Following an early substitution against Arsenal, Martinez missed Argentina’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador. Luke Shaw, who was infrequently used as a center-back last season, has also been absent. Lindelof was taken out of the Arsenal game before the finish due to sickness.
It meant that Maguire ended the Arsenal loss alongside Jonny Evans, reviving their previous combination from the previous season at Leicester.
