Harry Maguire says lack of Manchester United game time cannot continue - 'Not going to play once every month'
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Published 12/10/2023 at 08:57 GMT
Harry Maguire has found regular game time in short supply at Manchester United since Erik ten Hag's appointment at Old Trafford. He was stripped of the club captaincy, and was the subject of intense speculation linking him with a move to West Ham. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has still been an ever-present figure in Gareth Southgate's England squad, ahead of matches against Australia and Italy.
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Harry Maguire says his lack of game time at club level cannot continue and he will look to discuss the situation with Manchester United.
The centre-back has fallen down the pecking order at United in recent months, behind the likes of Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans.
He also lost the captaincy to Bruno Fernandes, and a summer move to West Ham never came to fruition.
Maguire is determined to cement his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of Euro 2024, and addressed the situation in a press conference ahead of the double header against Australia and Italy.
“I'm not going to sit here all my life and play once every month. If it carries on, then I'm sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things,” Maguire said.
"But, honestly, at the moment I'm fully focused on two games for England, two big games.
"Then I'm fully focused on fighting and trying to get back my place at Manchester United and helping the team climb up the league to where we should be."
Maguire came out fighting in defence of his own abilities as a footballer, and stressed he has been satisfied with his recent displays for club and country.
The 30-year-old made a rare Premier League start for Erik ten Hag’s side in a 2-1 win over Brentford last Saturday.
"It's not my decision whether I start the next game or not. I'm unsure on that. I'm sure in a couple of weeks I'll go back and find out," he said.
"If you look back on my last 15 to 20 starts for club and country, I would be happy to sit here and say 'I'm really happy with my performances'.
"My record under this manager speaks for itself. I haven't started as many games as I'd like, but my win percentage when I've played is ridiculously high.
"And of course, there's times when I can do more and times when I can improve and help the team, but I'm just wanting to help the team.
"I'm wanting to help the team get out of this position that we're in at the moment and hopefully we can do that in the coming weeks."
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The defender also directly addressed the speculation linking him with a move to the Hammers, and explained that reports of a deal being agreed were wide of the mark.
"The actual opportunity to go to West Ham wasn't really agreed between both clubs and myself, so it wasn't just my chance to say yes and I'm going," he explained.
"The actual opportunity wasn't there because we didn't get far enough down the line with it.
"West Ham are a massive club, but my full focus is still on Manchester United. I want to fight for my place, but, of course, game time is really important to me."
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