Andros Townsend has opened up on his admiration for the ‘absolutely incredible’ Harry Maguire following another commanding performance from the Manchester United defender in the 1-0 Premier League win over Luton Town.
Perhaps Chris Sutton, the 1995 Premier League winner, said it best. Harry Maguire, Sutton tells the BBC’s Monday Night Club podcast, is ‘getting the nod over Raphael Varane’ in the Manchester United XI these days. And, genuinely, ‘who thought that would happen?’.
As comebacks go, this has been a return to form for the ages. Maguire going from a figure of ridicule to a pillar of granite-carved consistency. He is now playing probably his best football since that debut season at Old Trafford under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Harry Maguire shining at Manchester United
Maguire, colossal in tight wins over the likes of Brentford, Fulham, Sheffield United and now Luton, is one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s team sheet these days, only a few months after the Red Devils accepted a £30 million bid from West Ham.
“I think Harry Maguire’s mental toughness is absolutely incredible,” says Townsend, who’s Luton side were kept at arm’s length by the England international on Saturday.
“If I go back to 2015, every time I was named in an England squad, the abuse I would get… It used to destroy me. Destroy my confidence.
“So for someone like Maguire, the level of scrutiny… He got booed at an England game. He got booed at United games. The level of mental toughness to not let that destroy you, to come back stronger and now be first choice for Man United, honestly, it’s absolutely incredible.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
Manchester United, the Premier League’s form team believe it or not, have now won four of their last five top-flight games with Maguire in the XI. The former Leicester City ace scored the winner in the Champions League triumph over Copenhagen too.
And while he may no longer wear the captain’s armband under Erik ten Hag, Sutton believes he is still a skipper in spirit.
Maguire replaces Varane in United XI
“Do you know what, I’ve never met Harry Maguire but he’s always seemed to be a decent, solid guy. He had that move, he had the captaincy. And he must have felt an element of humiliation when losing the captaincy and losing his place,” says the former Celtic, Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa striker.
“From the outside, I always thought; ‘Well, probably he needs to move on because he’s not going to get game time’. So fair play to him. There are a lot of other players who would have chucked the toys out of the pram. We’ve seen other Manchester United players question the manager.”
Yes, Jadon Sancho, we are looking at you.
“What he’s done is an example to everyone really. Knuckle down, train hard and, when you get your opportunity, grab it,” Sutton adds.
“He’s not the captain anymore (officially). But he sort of is the captain in terms of what Manchester United have lacked. He has shown great leadership. He’s getting the nod over Varane! Who thought that would happen?”
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