Gareth Southgate has warned defender Harry Maguire that his future in the England squad could be under threat because of his failure to nail down a regular starting berth at Manchester United.
The defender, who started Sunday's 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham at Old Trafford, has been included in Southgate's Three Lions squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine. England face Italy in Naples on Thursday evening before taking on Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday.
Maguire, who has been joined in the squad by United teammates Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford, has been a key fixture in Southgate's plans over the last few years and played every minute of England's World Cup campaign in Qatar at the end of last year. He has formed a strong and reliable partnership with John Stones in the heart of the defence and has become a key figure.
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However, he has struggled for frequent opportunities at United this season, making just 24 appearances in all competitions. He has played second fiddle to both Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in the battle of a starting berth, with the aforementioned due having formed Erik ten Hag's strongest centre-back partnership.
And with that in mind, Southgate has admitted that it is not an ideal situation for the United captain to find himself in.
"We are where we were ahead of the World Cup, and it's not a perfect scenario," said Southgate. "Harry has got two World Cup winners currently ahead of him in the (United) team and that's the benchmark.
"He dealt with it brilliantly in Qatar. His performances were exceptional. He had a lot of pressure going into those games because the spotlight was on him, but he was, without doubt, one of our best players in the tournament."
Maguire, who turned 30 earlier this month, is already being linked with the prospect of leaving Old Trafford this forthcoming summer to secure more regular first-team football elsewhere. He has played 11 times in the Premier League this season, earning just five starts.
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