Gareth Southgate has warned Harry Maguire that his lack of minutes for Manchester United 'can't continue forever' if he wants to retain his England place.
The Manchester United captain was selected by Southgate in his latest Three Lions squad despite a lack of game time for his club. Maguire has become fifth choice centre-back under Erik ten Hag and there are doubts over his long-term future at the club.
Southgate has been criticised for selecting Maguire, who has been a trusted ally since he took over as England boss. But with emerging talent at centre-back, the England boss warned that he can't continue to select Maguire if he is not playing club football.
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“Inevitably it’s not a situation that can continue forever,” Southgate said. “It’s like Kalvin Phillips, they are important players for us and with Kalvin we haven’t got many players who can play as that single pivot.
“Of course the longer that situation goes on the more concerning it is and we’ve got in Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk, Tyrone Mings, players who are playing well without the same experiences of club European football or international football. But we’ve got to keep searching for competition in that area of the pitch.”
England face North Macedonia and Malta next month in a qualifier for Euro 2024. The Three Lions have a 100 per cent record so far after beating Italy and Ukraine in March.
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