Manchester United have made the decision to keep Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay beyond the current January transfer window in a bid to preserve squad depth, as per the Daily Mail.
The England international retained the captain’s armband when manager Erik ten Hag took over the managerial helm at Old Trafford. However, he has been ousted from the starting XI following his team’s opening two league games, both of which ended in defeat.
Many thought Maguire was third in the pecking order behind Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez. But Ten Hag has opted not to start Maguire even during the absence of the Argentina international following his team’s 2022 FIFA World Cup win.
He was restricted to late cameos in his team’s Premier League wins against Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers last month. Left-back Luke Shaw started as a centre-back in both those matches.
Pundit Paul Parker recently blasted Ten Hag for ‘lying’ about Maguire’s fitness issues, suggesting he made it up as an excuse to leave him out of the starting XI.
McTominay’s position in the starting line-up was threatened the moment Casemiro arrived at the club from Real Madrid this summer. He hasn’t started in any of his team’s last nine league games.
However, he was left out of the matchday squad against the Tricky Trees and Wolves due to illness. Fred and Casemiro are Ten Hag’s go-to options in the middle of the park.
While McTominay and Maguire don’t seem to feature in the Dutchman’s strongest XI on paper, they can still play an important role from the bench. Manchester United are active in four season-long competitions, which will require them to have a deep squad at their disposal.
Erik ten Hag highlights Manchester United’s need to retain players in January
Ten Hag has himself underlined the need for Manchester United to keep even the fringe players at the club this winter to maintain a healthy squad depth.
The former Ajax manager recently admitted (h/t Manchester Evening News):
“I know we have good players and I know a lot of clubs will have an interest in players who aren’t playing for us so often. But we need the squad. We need depth in the squad and especially, I would say, the frontline.”
The aforementioned quotes could hold significance for Anthony Elanga, who has been linked with a winter move to Everton. The Swedish winger has played just 497 minutes of senior football this season, majorly due to Alejandro Garnacho’s emergence from the academy.
