Harry Maguire feels his decision to stay back at Manchester United is being vindicated – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United kept their second successive clean sheet in the Premier League and scraped past Luton Town 1-0 on Saturday, a result that saw the club enter the top six for the first time this season.

It has been an extremely difficult season for United and even more so for manager Erik ten Hag with most fans and pundits expecting the club to keep up the same momentum that saw the team finish third and clinch silverware in the form of the Carabao Cup.

Injuries and poor form have not helped matters with the defence the worst affected. The Dutchman has hardly ever had the luxury of picking his first-choice back four with almost all suffering long-term injuries at the same time.

The centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, which served the club so well in the previous campaign, has hardly been used with the Argentine World Cup winner ruled out till next year.

Maguire’s resurgence

The Frenchman’s poor injury record has meant Ten Hag has been forced to call upon backup signing Jonny Evans with alarming regularity alongside Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.

The multiple injuries have meant the former club skipper has gotten an extended runout of games this season with the encounter against Luton being his eighth consecutive start in all competitions this term.

This run of games is a far cry from the last season wherein the England international started only 16 times in all competitions and was close to being sold in the summer.

A move to Premier League outfit West Ham United fell through after disagreements over the payoff amount with the defender subject to horrible abuse all over social media.

Now, speaking to The Athletic, Maguire feels his decision to stay back at Old Trafford is being vindicated and that he is proving his doubters wrong.

Despite the barrage of abuse and being stripped of the captaincy, the former Leicester City man has remained a model professional and is being rewarded for his patience and hard work.

“I played a few games last year, 16 or 17 starts, and I felt like I performed really well in the games I played in,” he said. “I just didn’t play as many as I would have liked.

“On the other hand, Rapha (Varane) and Licha (Martinez) were playing brilliantly and kept numerous clean sheets. I had to bide my time and be patient.

“I had two or three opportunities last season to get a run of games but I broke down with illness, I broke down with injuries twice, so I never got the rhythm and never got the run of games that I could prove myself to the manager.

Maguire being rewarded for his hard work and patience

“I’ve have got that now, I am really enjoying my football and I really enjoy playing for this club. I was willing to stay and fight for my place and we have four or five top international centre-backs at this club and the competition for places is really high.”

“I think your experience and the memories you’ve had. Working hard in training is the main thing and making sure you’re ready.”

The 30-year-old has been in solid form for both club and country and fans are slowly beginning to appreciate how he has stepped up under difficult conditions.

While he might not be the long-term answer to the defensive problems at the club, Maguire is proving his worth and long may it continue.