Roy Keane warned Manchester United dressing room about Harry Maguire's confidence two years ago... and it appears they haven't listened.
The Red Devils skipper, 29, has struggled since England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy 14 months ago. He was recently dropped in favour of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez by United boss Erik ten Hag and is battling to maintain his England spot.
Maguire conceded an avoidable penalty in England's 3-3 draw against Germany at Wembley on Monday night, raising more concerns. One pundit who won't be surprised about Maguire's form is Keane, who has highlighted his weaknesses in the past.
Speaking after Maguire's red card against Denmark in October 2020, Keane highlighted the lack of leadership in United's dressing room. Keane said: "I've been in situations before, I've been in Harry's situation, I've been in dressing rooms at Man United.
"But I was in dressing rooms with brilliant characters and brilliant leaders. So even if had done something silly or was having a hard time, on or off the pitch, I was going back into - [what] I felt [was] the best dressing room in the world.
"Lads who would carry you through difficult spells. He's not going to get that. He's going back to Man United, he's playing in the back four - I wouldn't be anywhere near these lads. Because I don't see them as leaders."
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Although Maguire's form did recover that season, it has dropped off again. The defender appears to be low on confidence. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said: "I really do [feel sorry for Maguire].
"If Erik ten Hag was watching, he will be thinking: ‘Blimey, can I ever play him for Manchester United again?’ His confidence is shot to pieces, so how this next two months pans out for Harry Maguire I couldn’t tell you. We all know he has to have game time, because how can Gareth trust him if he doesn’t?
"From Harry Maguire’s point of view, he needs to play games. He will want to play games to iron out this lack of form. To build his confidence he needs to somehow find game time - whether it’s in the Europa League or whatever - to build confidence going into the World Cup.
"It would be awful if he doesn’t get any game time and is thrown in against Iran and he is rusty. It’s going to be a huge decision for Gareth Southgate to make and one to really watch. If he doesn’t play enough games then he can’t pick him for that first game against Iran."
Maguire has played just 10 minutes of Premier League football since United's 4-0 defeat to Brentford in August. His only start since then was the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in the Europa League, as he played only a minute in the 2-0 win against Sheriff Tiraspol.
Maguire has apologised for Monday's error on Instagram. He wrote: "Mistakes are part of the game, I apologise. Great fight back and spirit to get us back into the game by the lads. Take the positives and look forward to Qatar. The tough times will make us stronger."
