Man United’s captain central defender was assigned to play in a new position in defense under coach Erik ten Hag.

 Coach Ten Hag still values ​​Maguire’s ability

The last match against West Ham in the Carabao Cup was a rare opportunity for Harry Maguire to be included in the starting line-up of Man United this season.

Maguire is arranged to play as a right-sided centre-back, although before that, the player born in 1993 often appeared in the left-back position, at both club and national team level. Even the captain of Man Utd was pushed to play in the role of a striker when needed.

This was confirmed by coach Erik ten Hag in a recent press conference: “It is my tactical intention and it is working quite well. I like a player who actively plays in many positions. Maguire can He played on the left side but obviously he put in a good performance when he played to the right against West Ham .”

“Not only was he active in defense, but Maguire also contributed to the attack. He had a few passes, good coordination to overcome the opponent,” added the Dutchman .

In addition, coach Ten Hag said that during the training session, he and his assistant team directly guided Maguire. The former Ajax captain rҽvҽalҽd that he had watched a video of the former Leicester star and appreciated the player’s passing skills.

“Maguire is really a quality player. His skill set is much more than what a central defender would require. The problem is that he has to use them appropriately in games.”

This season, Maguire accepted a reserve role at Old Trafford. In 2023, the most expensive midfielder in the world started 5 matches for the “Red Devils”.

Casemiro names 5 top quality Man Utd stars of Man Utd

Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has earned plenty of plaudits for his form during his debut season at the club, but the Brazilian has more recently opted to shine the light on his team-mates.

Erik ten Hag’s men have recovered from a nightmare start to the league season that saw them lose their opening two league games and have transformed themselves into potential title contenders. Casemiro has been a large factor behind that form, adding some surprise attacking contributions to the United midfield as well as the expected defensive steel.

It was the former Real Madrid man who opened the scoring during last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final triumph over Newcastle, before Marcus Rashford added the vital second to end United’s six-year wait for a trophy.

After the game, Casemiro was inundated with compliments from fans and pundits alike, but he has since heaped praise on his team-mates and picked out five standout stars that have impressed him since his arrival.

“The style of play here is different, the build-up play, the manager, the league, the club are all different,” the Brazilian told United Review. “Every club has their own way of playing, the most important thing is adapting quickly, that’s what I try to do.

“I’ll say it again, it’s impossible to do it on your own. There’s the quality of my teammates. There’s Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and [Raphael] Varane – high quality players.

Casemiro has been a standout player for Manchester United this season

“Christian [Eriksen] who I played alongside for a long time, another exceptional player. Fredinho [Fred], another excellent player, then there’s Bruno [Fernandes] who plays a bit further forward, a world-class player.”

All of the aforementioned five have enjoyed fantastic seasons so far, but Casemiro, alongside Rashford, has to be one of the favourites for Red Devils player of the season.

Last month, United legend Paul Scholes claimed Casemiro “as close to Roy Keane as I have seen”.

The Old Trafford icon added: “He knows where he wants everyone to be. I’ve said this before, a lot of us have been surprised by the quality of his play because at Madrid it was about [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric, but his passes forward, his awareness of people around him, he’s been fantastic.

“People say he’s a holding midfield player – I don’t see that. I think he does everything. He’s as close to Roy Keane as I have seen.

“As a Man United midfield player, you should be involved with everything. You should be able to go forward, you should be able to play a pass and help defend. I think he’s been fantastic.”