Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire “will be a great player” for Man Utd if he lives up to the Dutchman’s expectations on his return to Old Trafford.
Maguire went to the World Cup despite being dropped by Ten Hag in favour of a centre-back partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
The Man Utd captain had come under constant fire from supporters over his performances for the Red Devils over the past couple of seasons.
But Maguire was one of England’s best players at the World Cup and has slightly re-built his reputation at the tournament with Ten Hag hoping he can now show his true colours for Man Utd.
When asked about Maguire, Ten Hag said: “I’ve been asked many times. It’s clear he is good enough to play at the highest level.
“He has, for England, good games almost all the time. He had a period in Manchester where he performed badly. Then, of course there are difficulties.
“But when he is working hard, he gets that confidence. You are seeing that with the way he is playing for England.
“We want him to bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that, he will be a great player for us.”
On the decision to drop Maguire earlier in the season, Ten Hag added: “I have two or three good players in the right centre-back position.
“After Brentford, I had to change the mentality. He was unlucky that moment was bad for him but it doesn’t say anything about his quality. Rapha came in and is doing a good job.
“There are laws of the game in top football. You have to take your chance. The only thing he has to do is train well and perform well. He has games, he has rhythm. His chance will come.”
England lost 2-1 against France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, despite playing well. and Maguire was pleased to have proven himself at the tournament.
Maguire said: “Personally, at the moment, I am a lad, I love my country and to go out of a tournament, I’m not looking at myself, I’m looking at the team.
“Obviously I’ve played every game and I’m proud of my mentality to prove to myself again… I don’t need to prove to others… but at the moment, I don’t look at myself.
“I look at the team and every time I put this shirt on, I want the team to do well. Listen I’d have much preferred to have a bad game tonight and gone through.”
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