Erik ten Hag warns Harry Maguire must ‘fight’ after Man Utd captaincy handed to Bruno Fernandes

Erik ten Hag has claimed Harry Maguire has an 'important' role to play at Manchester United after the defender was stripped of the captaincy.

The 30-year-old released a statement via social media on Sunday where he revealed Ten Hag had opted to take the armband off him, with it subsequently announced on Thursday that Bruno Fernandes will take over that responsibility for the 2023/24 season.

While Maguire will obviously be feeling deflated at the decision, Ten Hag has insisted that is not the end of the road for his Old Trafford career, but warned the ex-Leicester City man must ‘fight for his place’.

"We respect Harry. Harry's very important for this squad, for this team and, you know, in his role as centre-back, we have four centre-backs,” the Dutchman told MUTV. “I talked about consistency and we know we can't do it with 11 players and so I'm happy we have four very good centre-backs.

"And we will need them, and he has to fight for his place, as he did last year. He has a high potential so I'm sure he will do it, he will fight for his place and then it's up to him."

Ten Hag’s comments are perhaps unsurprising given he often spoke about the ‘squad’ rather than the ‘team’ last season, and emphasised the importance of having depth. Yet both Ten Hag and the club are keen to move Maguire on, with interest from Chelsea and West Ham United.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag also thanked David de Gea for his service, less than two weeks after the goalkeeper departed United following 12 years at the helm. 

“It's massive what David has done for us and for Manchester United,” he said. “Last season he contributed so highly on our top-four position, to winning the trophy in the Carabao Cup and to reaching the final of the FA Cup. So, we are really grateful for what he did for us, and we highly respect him.

“So many times he had the clean sheets because of his skills and he has done massive things for Manchester United and we all respect him. Sometimes also, as a team, especially on the top, you move, it's fluid, it's dynamic, and you move in another direction, and it happens. When you are [here for] 12 years at Man United, there then comes a period when players will come and go.”