Manchester United's Harry Maguire did an extensive and honest interview this week. Maguire discussed his form, United's disastrous season, how much he cares for the club and more. Maguire seemed self-aware in the interview and he spoke well.
That hasn't always been the case with Maguire. His pre-match interview before Liverpool obliterated United for the second time this season was a classic example of a player failing to read the room - it went down like a lead balloon with supporters. Maguire has endured the worst season of his career but his nightmare is finally over. Maguire will benefit from a summer break more than others.
Maguire is expected to play a key role under Erik ten Hag and it seems he can only improve next term. Maguire's performances can't get much worse than they've been. Maguire admitted in his interview with The Times that he's yet to speak with Ten Hag and that wasn't a surprise, but the defender's answer on United's best player this season was. It immediately jumped off the page.
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Maguire reflected on United's season before naming Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player that has consistently performed. “We were nowhere near good enough throughout the season. We were conceding too many goals, not scoring enough goals," Maguire said.
"And it just spiralled. You could see towards the end of the season, the confidence wasn’t there, and the belief in the group. Every player at the club has not performed to a level that’s . . . apart from Cristiano [Ronaldo] with his goals.”
There is a unanimous verdict among supporters, journalists and pundits that Ronaldo and David de Gea have been the club's standout performers this season. It was therefore interesting that Maguire didn't mention the latter when discussing the matter.
It's only fair to give Maguire the benefit of the doubt for not naming De Gea, but it's also fair to speculate that the goalkeeper's omission from the interview might have been by design, meaning It's possible Maguire deliberately didn't name De Gea.
De Gea has enjoyed a wonderful season at Old Trafford. After uncertainty around his future in the summer, he enjoyed a renaissance and reclaimed the No.1 spot in emphatic style. De Gea has made a mockery of the dilemma between himself and Dean Henderson and he's actually been more consistent than Ronaldo, who endured a barren festive period if you're being pedantic.
It's therefore jarring to suggest that De Gea is contributing to United's problems. Although De Gea is a world-class shot stopper, he's a goalkeeper that has failed to evolve at the pace of the game. His distribution is awful, his aerial presence lacking and he's far from comfortable sweeping up from the back. De Gea is weakest with the ball at his feet and that can't be in 2022.
While that's hard to accept because De Gea has been outstanding this season, that doesn't mean it's not true. United are put at an immediate disadvantage at the back with De Gea, with his wayward passes inviting pressure straight onto the back line.
Luis Enrique has consistently snubbed De Gea during his time as Spain's manager and that speaks louder than words. Brighton's Robert Sanchez withdrew from the Spain squad in March and there was still no room for De Gea. Barcelona B goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, 20, was called up to replace Sanchez instead. Enrique knows the truth and Ten Hag will have to wrestle with it sooner or later.
De Gea does his defence no favours with his positional sense. That's an ironic statement considering how tragically porous United's backline has been this season and the world-class saves De Gea has regularly made, but the Spaniard being stuck to his line creates more space for the opposition to attack. That has been seen so often this season. United have been hopelessly incohesive.
Maguire will be aware of this because it heavily affects him and whoever he plays with in central defence. Maguire will likely be frustrated with De Gea's failure to play higher and that could explain why he didn't mention him in his interview.
Although United fans will argue Maguire needs to get his own house in order first, he might feel that De Gea's weakness in this area has made his job more difficult than it needs to be. Maguire will likely want a modern goalkeeper behind him.
Joe Hart spent 10 years at Manchester City before Pep Guardiola considered him a goalkeeper unsuitable for his methods.
It seems De Gea could eventually meet the same cruel fate as Hart, just with Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
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