Erik ten Hag insists he’s “happy” that Manchester United defender Harry Maguire snubbed a suggestion to hitch West Ham.
United accepted West Ham’s £30 million ($38 million) bid for Maguire however the England worldwide determined to tug out of the deal after failing to agree private phrases.
Maguire is prone to stay at Old Trafford as soon as the switch window closes, leaving him as United’s fourth alternative centre-back behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof.
Ten Hag had already stripped Maguire of the captaincy after the 30-year-old made solely eight Premier League begins final season.
But the United supervisor claimed he had no downside with Maguire staying.
“I am happy Harry Maguire is here. He is going to have to fight for his position as does everyone in the squad,” Ten Hag informed reporters on Friday.
“He knows that I expect from him, what I expect from a centre-half. He can do it, he has the abilities to do it so now he has to show it.”
Maguire was an unused substitute for United’s season-opening 1-0 win towards Wolves on Monday.
Lindelof got here on to interchange the injured Martinez in one other blow to the previous Leicester participant, however Ten Hag urged Maguire to show he deserves a first-team place.
“It is about character, to be convinced to play that role, he has all the abilities to do it,” he mentioned.
“We have four good centre halves and including Luke Shaw we have five, and we need it because we are going to play 50 or 60 games this season.
“All the players are internationals so we have a lot of load to cover.”
Jonny Evans, 35, may nonetheless be part of United on a everlasting foundation regardless of Maguire’s presence.
Evans signed on a short-term deal to cowl United’s pre-season fixtures in July, however that contract has now expired.
Ten Hag has revealed talks are ongoing with the previous United centre-back, who watched the Wolves sport from the director’s field at Old Trafford.
“In this moment, he is not (under contract) but we are talking,” Ten Hag mentioned of Evans, who left Old Trafford for West Brom in 2015.
“We will see. We are in talks and when we have news we will bring it.”
United this week issued a membership assertion concerning the interior investigation into Mason Greenwood, who has been suspended by his group since January 2022 over allegations referring to a younger girl after photos and movies had been posted on-line.
Greenwood was going through fees together with tried rape and assault till the Crown Prosecution Service introduced six months in the past that the case had been discontinued.
Following reviews that United are making ready to deliver Greenwood again into the first-team set-up, some followers protested towards his potential return at Old Trafford on Monday.
However, Ten Hag was adamant the difficulty wouldn’t have an effect on him or his group.
“We focus on the way of playing, we focus on the team performance. It is about the players who are available so we focus on Tottenham,” he mentioned.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com