Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has warned that his current situation cannot go on and if he continues to be used sparingly, he may explore a move elsewhere.
Since Ten Hag’s arrival at the club, Maguire has been used in a secondary role, with the United manager preferring a centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varanne.
Even the likes of Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw, who is naturally a left-back, have been selected ahead of the former Leicester City man.
So far this season, Maguire has managed a total of four appearances in all competitions, with three of these coming in the Premier League.
He has only started on one occasion in England’s top flight even in the midst of an injury crisis to key members of the backline.
At the moment, the 30-year-old is with the Three Lions ahead of their games against Australia and Italy.
He spoke to reporters and admitted that his status at Old Trafford is unfeasible in the long-term. However, Maguire defended his record whenever he was named in the starting XI and indicated that it was evidence of his quality and value to Ten Hag.
“I am not going to sit here all my life and play once a month. If it carries on I am sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things but at the moment I am focused on two big games for England and then I am fully focused on fighting to try and win back my place at Manchester United and trying to help the team climb up the league to where we should be.”
“I have belief in my ability and what I have done in my career. Every player who is on the bench should believe they should be starting otherwise they wouldn’t be playing at a high level. I am no different. It has been tough, I want to play games, I want to feel important to the club and to the rest of the team.”
He further stated, “I haven’t been playing nowhere near as much as I would like. I just have to make sure I am ready to take the opportunities when they come along.”
Maguire explained that it is not his decision whether he starts the next game or not – that choice ultimately lies with Ten Hag.
The former United captain mentioned that his record under his club manager “speaks for itself” and while he may not have started as many games as he would have wished, his win percentage when on the pitch is “ridiculously high.”
The player vowed to keep working hard in training and to push himself so that he could convince Ten Hag to hand him more minutes.