Centre-back opens up on his renaissance at Old Trafford and his burning World Cup desire for England
H
arry Maguire was injured again and Manchester United were stuck in a loop under Ruben Amorim, offering their own take on the definition of insanity. As Albert Einstein almost said, it is playing 3-4-2-1 with Bruno Fernandes deep and Casemiro exposed over and over again – but expecting different results.
It was the start of January and, at that point, Maguire simply wanted a return to fitness after two months on the sidelines, regular minutes, a bit of rhythm in his game after an in-and-out season. The notion of an England recall was fanciful. Not to mention the World Cup. Maguire was set to remain on 64 caps, the last of which he won against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in September 2024.
Who writes Maguire’s scripts? It is a need-to-know question because there has been some drama in them over recent years, typically involving shuddering lows that would finish anybody apart from, it seems, this teak-tough defender. The 33-year-old knows how to dig deep and fight. He bounces back and there have been some sensational highs that go beyond him re-establishing himself in a team or a manager’s thoughts. The last-gasp headers for United against Lyon and Liverpool, anyone?
