Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag blocked Harry Maguire from moving to Inter Milan on loan despite placing him on a six-man transfer list ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 29-year-old was subject to interest from the Serie A giants in January as they offered him a route back to regular first-team action, having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford. Maguire has started just four Premier League matches this season and is behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order.
Maguire was heavily linked with a move to Inter or Premier League rivals West Ham, but Ten Hag pulled the plug on a transfer away for the England international. According to The Sun, the United manager has promised Maguire more chances to regain his place in the starting XI after he refused to let him leave.
However, it is understood Ten Hag has named Maguire as one of six players that will be allowed to move on to pastures new at the end of the season. That list also includes Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek and on-loan players Alex Telles and Eric Bailly.
The England international will no doubt have a number of suitors should he decide to leave the Red Devils, but he could still have a huge part to play at United between now and the end of the season. Ten Hag may need Maguire to fill in when he decides to change his XI, although Varane and Martinez are likely to play most of the time.
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United have plenty of matches to rotate their squad as they are the only English top-flight team still in all four competitions, having progressed to the Carabao Cup final later this month. The Red Devils could have up to 13 more matches before the next international break at the end of March.
Ten Hag will need to use the bulk of his squad to ensure his most important players are fresh and aren't in the red zone, at risk of picking up an injury. Christian Eriksen, who has been a regular in the United side this season, suffered a serious ankle issue in United's win over Reading and will be out until at least the end of April.
Ten Hag will be eager to ensure that none of his so-called star men do not suffer the same fate, including Marcus Rashford, who scored his 19th goal of the season in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. The result means United have won their last 13 games at Old Trafford.
