Man Utd’s Harry Maguire saga will not mask Ralf Rangnick’s true issues | Football | Sport

When a team like Manchester United are underperforming, the finger of blame is frequently pointed at someone. And ever since he has arrived at Old Trafford in 2019, Harry Maguire has frequently been that man.

Being an £80million signing, the centre back carries a lot of expectation on his back and he was expected to transform the Red Devils in the same way that Virgil van Dijk did two years prior at Liverpool. And, obviously, he hasn’t.

Criticism has been aimed at Maguire from all angles, with some fans going as far as saying that they want the defender to be sold as soon as possible. But the England international is suffering as a result of his transfer fee.

But the former Leicester City defender didn’t set his price tag, and one would imagine he wasn’t expecting to be made captain six months after putting pen to paper on a deal.

Of course, those factors don’t justify some of his poorer performances and controversial decisions he has made of late, but it provides context to a situation where the bar may just be a tad too high for the 28-year-old.

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Stripping Maguire of the captaincy, as reported by The Mirror, also suggests that Rangnick too thinks that his no.5 is the issue at the club. But the player is not the problem at the Theatre of Dreams, nor is he the sole reason that United are struggling to re-build and become the club they once were.

Paul Merson’s analysis of the signing on Soccer Saturday when the deal was confirmed has rung true, especially his comment of: “You have to remember when he plays for Leicester, they play, they drop back and defend on the edge of their box, there is no space behind. The ball comes in the middle, he heads it out, he comes out running with the ball.

“He kicks off now with Man Utd and you are on the halfway line and all of a sudden you are playing against Arsenal and you are on the halfway line and balls are going over the top for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and for Man City for Sergio Aguero and it is pace, pace, pace.”

Maguire’s purchase was a poorly thought-out one, but a player of his quality simply cannot be kicked to the curb. The Englishman is strong, powerful and a solid ball-playing defender and is capable of playing for top six football.

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