Ten Hag changes view on Manchester United ace and is ‘impressed’ as January stance becomes clear

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Manchester United may be in the market for a centre-half but Harry Maguire will be going nowhere in the January window after an impressive couple of performances for the Premier League giants.

Ok, a couple of decent displays against Crystal Palace and Brentford is not quite the grounds for a career resurgence not seen since Matthew McConaughy went from rom-com regular to Hollywood darling, but give Harry Maguire his flowers.

At a time in which so many members of the Manchester United squad are performing well below expectations, the oft-maligned centre-half has stepped up and stood out in the absence of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.

He was excellent against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. Maguire’s assist to set up Scott McTominay’s 97^th minute winner against Brentford, meanwhile, certainly felt poetic. United were, after all, happy to sell both players to West Ham only a few months ago, accepting the Hammers’ £30 million bid for the one-time Leicester City stalwart.

Harry Maguire in form at Manchester United

And if West Ham were planning to renew their interest in the winter, however, it seems they would be wasting their time.

Erik ten Hag, TEAMtalk say, has been ‘impressed’ by Maguire’s never-say-die spirit and his desire to prove his critics wrong. A certain Jadon Sancho certainly could learn a few lessons from the way Maguire has gone about his business behind the scenes, keeping schtum and letting his football do the talking. 

TEAMtalk adds that Maguire’s admirers ‘have been given no hope’ that he may be available in January.

It could be a different story next summer, of course. United are already lining up a range of centre-back targets, Antonio Silva, Jean-Clair Todibo, Giorgio Scalvini and Goncalo Inacio among them.

A second chance

For now, however, Maguire is very much part of Manchester United’s plans. And you’d have got long odds on that being the situation when West Ham’s bid was given the green light by the Red Devils in mid-August.