Harry Maguire ‘could lose Man Utd captaincy’ under Erik ten Hag

Harry Maguire’s future as Manchester United captain is said to be unclear as Erik ten Hag considers signing a new centre-back this summer.

The incoming boss has already refused to give any commitments to Maguire after a tumultuous 12 months, telling a recent press conference: “Next season is a different season but I think he did a great job.”

Maguire is expected to stay at United this summer but Ten Hag wants a new centre-back to come in and compete for minutes alongside Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof. Plans are being made to make space by offloading Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe.

90min understands Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez is an option and is seen as more attainable than team-mate Jurrien Timber, while Villarreal’s Pau Torres is a long-term target.

With a new face potentially arriving at Old Trafford, Maguire’s future as both a regular starter and first-team captain are up in the air, according to the Daily Mail.

Former boss Ralf Rangnick alluded to questions over Maguire’s status as captain, insisting the players should be asked to select their next captain.

“I strongly believe the captain should be elected by the team because he’s called the team manager and we always did that,” Rangnick said in April. “We always had a board of four or five players – we called it the Spielerrat [players’ council] – elected by the players.

“The player with the highest amount of votes was the team captain at the end. That was how I did it. I know a lot of head coaches don’t do it that way. That’s what I would do if I was still the manager next season, but in the end I’m not. This is something that Erik will have to decide.”