The world's most expensive defender is holding the Three Lions back – and the manager has to wield the axe before it's too late
England have all the tools to win the 2024 European Championship, as Gareth Southgate boasts arguably the most well-rounded squad in international football. That is, if you remove Harry Maguire from the equation.
The Manchester United centre-half has won 58 caps for his country to date, chipping in with seven goals along the way, with many of his best performances coming at major tournaments. The problem is, at 30-years-old, Maguire is now so clearly past his prime.
United spent £80 million ($100m) to sign Maguire from Leicester City back in 2019, but struggled to sell him for even a quarter of that amount in the summer transfer window. He spent the majority of last season on the sidelines at club level, having fallen down the pecking order following Erik ten Hag's appointment as manager at Old Trafford, and was rightly stripped of his captaincy duties in July.
There appears to be no way back for Maguire in Manchester, and yet, he remains a firm fixture in England's starting XI. Southgate has always had his favourites, but it's getting harder and harder for him to justify the inclusion of the former Leicester man.
If Maguire is still in the picture by the time the Euros kick off in Germany next summer, England can kiss their chances of glory goodbye. Southgate must be well aware of the lumbering defender's limitations by now, and the time has come for him to show that he has a ruthless streak by cutting him out of his plans as soon as possible.
Getty Images'I've never let my country down'
"Of course I love playing for my country and in 50-odd caps I feel like I’ve never let my country down," Maguire told reporters in March. "I feel like I’m good enough to play at a high level and I’ve proven that over the last five, six years now."
The United outcast defended himself admirably in the face of widespread criticism last season, but his words were ultimately hollow. No one who has watched Maguire for club or country in 2023 would agree that he is good enough to play at the top level anymore.
Maguire has been a reliable figure for England over the years, but he is now standing in the way of their progress. That much was painfully obvious during a 1-1 draw with Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday that saw the Three Lions miss their chance to take full control of Group C.
England fell behind in the 26th minute at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland, with Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko timing his run into the box perfectly to bury a clever cut-back from Yukhym Konoplya. The goal might have been avoided had it not been for Maguire, who comically ran into the same space as Marc Guehi, and ended up hugging his centre-back partner as the ball fell perfectly for Zinchenko to slot home behind him.
It was another prime example of Maguire's lack of spatial awareness, mobility and speed – as if England supporters needed any more. But more concerning was the United man's caution on the ball in a game that desperately needed an injection of positivity.
Maguire would often demand the ball as England's deepest player, take a few strides forward, then cut back and play the safest possible pass to his defensive colleagues. His tendency in possession rubbed off on the rest of the team right up until the final whistle, as the Three Lions settled for a point thanks to Kyle Walker's brilliant equaliser shortly before the interval.
England badly missed John Stones' trademark runs out of defence and progressive passing range, with Maguire's weaknesses made all the more glaring in his absence.
Advertisement(C)GettyImagesA spare part at United
It's certainly no surprise that Maguire looks rusty, given the fact he is still spending most of his time sitting on the sidelines at United. He was an unused substitute in their first two home games of the 2023-24 campaign against Wolves and Nottingham Forest, and only featured in the loss at Arsenal last time out after an injury to Lisandro Martinez.
Victor Lindelof started the Arsenal game ahead of Maguire, while Jonny Evans' surprise return to the club has also increased competition for regular minutes. United are currently dealing with a defensive injury crisis of sorts, with Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw both set to be missing for the next few weeks.
However, Martinez is expected to make a quick recovery from his foot injury, and should be back in the starting XI when United play host to Brighton on Saturday. Even when Ten Hag is short on options, deploying Maguire appears to be his last resort.
That theme is unlikely to change as the season progresses. United's improvement in 2022-23 was underpinned by the success of Varane and Martinez's partnership at the back, while Lindelof has upped his level in order to stave off a potential move away from the club.
Amazingly, though, Maguire's position as an also-ran at Old Trafford still doesn't seem to be bothering Southgate. "He’s a very experienced player and he’s looked very good in training," the England boss said before the Ukraine game.
"Harry knows where our support is. He knows he has to keep playing well for us and I think over the next few weeks given what’s happening with their [United's] squad with injuries he may well have a lot more minutes for them as well."
After his performance against Ukraine, Southgate must be rethinking his stance on Maguire. He didn't meet the minimum requirements of an England squad member, let alone a starter, and the situation cannot continue in the long-term.
Getty ImagesHad his chance to leave
Maguire's outlook might have been very different had he swallowed his pride and left United in the last transfer window. West Ham saw a £30m ($38m) offer for the experienced defender accepted in early August, and only needed to reach an agreement on personal terms in order to seal the transfer.
However, the Hammers eventually backed out of the deal after growing tired of waiting amid reports that Maguire had demanded a £15m ($19m) pay-off from United to cover the significant drop in wages he would have had to accept at the London Stadium. The Red Devils were unable to oblige, not least because they were operating on a tight budget due to FFP restrictions.
It was later reported that Maguire told Ten Hag that he wanted to stay and fight for his place at United, despite clearly not being the right profile for the Dutch manager's preferred system. He could have played week in, week out at West Ham, who are also back in the Europa League, but didn't want to give up his cushy position at Old Trafford.
United are reportedly still paying out £190,000 ($238,000) in weekly wages to Maguire, who still has two years left to run on his current contract. Clearly, the England international is more concerned by financial gain than career achievements at this stage of his career.
West Ham would have given Maguire the platform to prolong his stay in the Three Lions' set-up. Instead, he has risked fading into obscurity for the sake of a bigger retirement pot – which says a lot about his character.
GettyEngland do have better options
Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori and Lewis Dunk would all have had every right to feel aggrieved as they sat on the bench watching Maguire's disaster-class against Ukraine. Southgate had three decent options at his disposal to shake up the defence, but once again showed loyalty to United's former captain.
The standout pick to partner Manchester City treble winner Stones right now is Guehi, who has proven himself as an assured defender with excellent physical and mental attributes for Crystal Palace. At only 23, he has plenty of room to improve too, and will surely make the step up to a bigger club if he continues on his current trajectory.
Tomori also has a strong case, having been a fixture in AC Milan's starting XI since his move to San Siro from Chelsea in 2021. But the most exciting option is Blues new boy Colwill.
On the back of a stellar showing for England's U21s during their successful European Championship campaign, Chelsea tied the 20-year-old down to a bumper new six-year contract. Colwill has certainly made an instant impression on Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino, as he's started all four of their Premier League games at the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Unlike Maguire, Colwill is extremely comfortable on the ball and has a knack for breaking the lines with intelligent passes under pressure. In his 17 appearances on loan at Brighton last term, Colwill boasted an 86 per cent forward pass completion rate – which only Thiago Silva was able to better among Chelsea's crop of centre-backs.
Colwill is also deceptively strong and quick, with a mature head on his shoulders that holds him in good stead to go on and fulfil his immense potential. To his credit, Southgate has at least acknowledged that the Chelsea starlet is now in the frame to challenge Maguire for his position.
"He [Maguire] and John Stones has been a partnership that's been brilliant for us, but we've got young centre backs coming up who are getting that experience and that will be the challenge going forward," Southgate said last week.
"Colwill is a very good player. It's interesting with Marc Guehi coming up as well, we need that competition."