There surely cannot be too many players who have shared a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane and Chris Porter during their professional careers.
Harry Maguire, then, is testament to what can be achieved by any player willing to work for it.
From the depths of England’s third tier to the most expensive centre-half on the planet in only a few seasons. A (former) Manchester United captain and a European Championship finalist with the Three Lions to boot.
Maguire has had his critics, to say the least. But, in the year of 2024, it would feel churlish in the extreme to argue against the point that the Man United stalwart has had more good seasons than bad ones in that famous red shirt.
After turning down a move to West Ham last summer, Maguire bounced back. Better, stronger, and more resilient than ever. The 31-year-old was probably United’s stand-out centre-half last season, albeit he did not have an injury-hit Lisandro Martinez for competition.
Harry Maguire reborn at Manchester United
His rise from Sheffield United in League One to the pinnacle of the sport came as little surprise to Maguire’s one-time Blades team-mate Jamie Murphy, however.
The well-travelled winger played briefly alongside Maguire a decade ago at Bramall Lane.
And he always knew that Man United’s number five would soon be embarking upon a journey to the top of the game, Maguire not only possessing the fearsome physical attributes but also the footwork every A-list club demands from their centre-halves these days.
“You knew he was going to play higher,” Murphy says, speaking to the Open Goal podcast and reminiscing about the time a teenage Maguire flattened a Christian Benteke at the peak of his powers.
“We played against Villa. Villa were in the Premier League, we were in League One, and he bullied Benteke. Like bullied him.
“I think he was only 19 at the time.”
A Sheffield United team also containing Conor Coady and one-time Carrington starlet Febian Brandy defeated their Premier League-based opponents 2-1 away from home that day. Thus, securing their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Maguire would secure himself a £2.5 million move to top-flight Hull City only a few months later.
“If you were playing five-a-side in training and he got the ball, he could run past everyone and score,” adds Murphy, formerly of Rangers and Brighton and Hove Albion. “I got passed the ball from Harry more than anyone, because he would dribble and get to like a number ten (position).
“He was brilliant.”
England star refusing to accept a benchwarming role
Ten years on, Maguire still has an important role to play at Manchester United even if this is likely to be his final season at Old Trafford.
His contract expires in the summer of 2025.
Maguire has started three of United’s four games so far, laying the foundations for a valuable opening day win when he denied Fulham a one-v-one opportunity shortly before Joshua Zirkzee marked his debut with a well-taken late winner.
The FA Cup and EFL Cup winner has never been one to back down from a challenge – he rebuffed West Ham’s advances to stay and fight for his place last year after all – and Maguire is refusing to accept a back seat role even despite the return of Martinez and the arrivals of Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro.
“I feel good. I feel fit. Physically and mentally, I’m in a good place and yeah, I’m looking forward to a big season,” Maguire told the official Manchester United website a couple of weeks ago.
“There’s so many games this season. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of changes to come, game to game, in the starting eleven. And when your turn is upon you, you need to take your chance. And yeah, it’s one that we’ll need a big squad for.
“For myself, I feel fit and ready to go.”
Maguire wll hope to reclaom his starting spot from De Ligt when United face Southampton on Saturday lunchtime.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
