Harry Maguire has enjoyed a positive start to life under new head coach Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
The England international has looked revitalised since returning from injury against Everton at the beginning of December.
Having suffered a lot of criticism since his £80 million move from Leicester City in 2019, Maguire finally appears to be coming out the other side with a string of impressive performances in recent months.
Benefitting from a change of formation
One of the standout features during Amorim’s tenure has been his transformation of United’s defence and implementation of a back-three system flanked by two high wing-backs.
The switch in formation has seen Maguire slot in seamlessly, returning to the United XI in a central centre-back role next to two of Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro or Noussair Mazraoui throughout December and January.
This seems to suit the big man well, and it looks to have helped in bringing about an upturn in form. The ex-United skipper has played the role before for England and Leicester, so he is benefitting from a familiarity with the position.
An undeniably low point in a stellar career
The 31-year-old’s first two seasons at Old Trafford were relatively successful.
He was installed as club captain by then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was a mainstay of the side until injury struck just before the Europa League final against Villarreal in 2021.
The Sheffield native returned from that setback to partner new signing Raphael Varane in the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign. However, his form took a huge nosedive thereafter, and Maguire was seen as something of a liability by many of the supporter base.
Inevitably, the Yorkshireman lost his place under Erik ten Hag – with the Dutchman preferring a new-look partnership of Varane and Martinez.
He was restricted to just 16 starts across all competitions in 2022-23, before being ruthlessly stripped of the club captaincy, with Bruno Fernandes taking over the mantle in the summer of 2023.
Failed move to West Ham and reintegration into the United team
It looked like Maguire would be moving on to new pastures during August of that year, with a switch to West Ham seemingly very close.
However, the proposed move to East London fell through, and the defender stayed put in M16, vowing to fight for his place at the club.
Injuries to both Martinez and Varane helped his cause. Harry gradually began to play more football without being seen as an automatic first-choice option under Ten Hag.
The experienced stalwart missed the FA Cup final victory over rivals Manchester City and endured an omission from the England squad for Euro 2024 after suffering a calf injury towards the back end of the 2023-24 season.
Uncertain Times
Despite plunging to new lows as a team in 2023-24, Ten Hag remained Manchester United manager heading into the current campaign.
The former Ajax boss brought in two new central defenders in Yoro and De Ligt, again throwing the troubled Englishman’s future into question.
Former Bayern defender De Ligt was seen as a direct replacement for the departing Varane, whilst Yoro was seen as an opportunity too good to turn down, given his sky-high potential and budding reputation as one of the top young prospects in European football.
Maguire once again found himself on the fringes of the squad, and a muscle injury suffered during a league game at Aston Villa forced him to miss almost two months of action.
An unsung hero for Ruben Amorim
The big defender returned in December and has shown he still has plenty to offer Amorim, especially when played in the Portuguese tactician’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation.
Maguire has become a regular once more in recent months, putting in some impressive displays against Manchester City in the league, the FA Cup win over Arsenal and a domestic draw at Anfield against bitter-rivals Liverpool.
Following a memorable Manchester derby moment, Amorim stated: “Maguire is perfect when you play with three defenders. He is perfect in the middle.”
Those comments certainly bode well for the former Hull City centre-half, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to play a role in the next few months.
It undoubtedly took a lot of mental strength and resilience to turn his United career around, and he deserves massive credit for that.
How do you feel about the relationship between Ruben Amorim and Harry Maguire? Let us know in the comments or across our social channels.
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