Manchester United captain and center-back Harry Maguire has stated his desire for more playing time at the club.
While Maguire and Bruno Fernandes had the pleasure of lifting the Carabao Cup trophy after the 2-0 final victory over Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium, he only came on for the final few minutes of the game, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane favored to the England international.
In an interview with ESPN, the defender voiced his lack of recent game time, but also admitted that he understands that there is ‘high competition for places’.
“I’m a footballer who wants to play games and I want to lead the boys out of the tunnel at the start of the game, but also I understand this is part and parcel of football when you play at the top level and you have got huge competition for places,” he said.
“The lads who are playing and starting, Rapha [Varane] is playing really well and we have seen his ideas, the manager, what he wants, and he does like a left-footed centre-back playing, so it’s high competition for places.
“I think he [Ten Hag] has been asked numerous times about my role in interviews and he tells me honestly, he believes in me, but this is football.
“This is Manchester United. We want to win trophies, and big trophies and to do that you need competition for places.
“The manager speaks to me daily and he really respects me and believes that I am a top centre-half with all the attributes to play in his team, but also he understands that the players who are playing – and I understand that the players who are playing – are playing very well.”
