Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has long faced question marks over why he can't seem to recreate the form he enjoys for his country when playing for his club.
Maguire's performances for the Red Devils last season left plenty to be desired and while he was not the only United player guilty of an underwhelming campaign, he seemed to take the brunt of the criticism. That is likely to be down to the fact that it is Maguire who dons the armband.
For the Three Lions, he doesn't have to carry that burden as Tottenham talisman Harry Kane enjoys the status of England captain. Deployed as part of a back-three, Maguire is far less likely to make a costly error playing alongside the likes of John Stones and Kyle Walker.
As the England stars conduct media duties ahead of their next Nations League fixture against Germany, Stones has leapt to the defence of Maguire after intense criticism last season. "I think some of the criticism that I’ve seen personally and over this season has been harsh," the Man City star explained.
"I don’t want to get into that but I think how he’s conducted himself on and off the pitch, he should be extremely proud of that and, all I can say is, I enjoy playing with Harry and I hope that we can do for many more years to come.
"I used to play against Harry as a kid and I knew his quality then. I think he was the age group older than me but I got the opportunity to play against him and it took quite a few years to be able to play with him here. I think we hit off straight away, he is an incredible person off the pitch, first and foremost, and an incredible partner and player to play with on the pitch.
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"So I hope we can keep playing together and building this partnership, whoever it may be, in a back three or back four." Stones kind words come amid reports both Maguire's status as captain and place in the United side could be under threat.
While the likelihood of him being exiled from the first-team fold under new manager Erik ten Hag feels unlikely, reports linking the Red Devils with Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber could unsettle the former Leicester City defender.
The captaincy could well change hands, however, with recent reports suggesting David de Gea could be the most likely candidate to inherit the armband off of Maguire. Ten Hag refused to confirm whether Maguire would retain the captaincy during his unveiling as boss.
It's claimed Spain international De Gea has the backing of the United dressing room to take on the role of captain ahead of the England defender, if Ten Hag opts to switch things up.
