Jamie Carragher thinks Harry Maguire’s Man Utd form could lead to Old Trafford exit

Jamie Carragher believes Harry Maguire’s form at Manchester United this season could lead to the club’s captain leaving Old Trafford in the near future.

The former Liverpool defender knows first hand the difficulties that come with being a centre-back in the Premier League, but feels Maguire must sort his current form quickly if he wants to remain at the club long-term.

“He’s going through the worst moment in his career,” Carragher said on CBS Sport, following United’s Champions League exit on Tuesday night.

“I can picture it now when I was playing. It felt like, no matter what I did in the game, how I prepared for it or how well I played, the one thing I would get wrong is that the ball would end up in the back of my net.

“This is something Maguire is going through. He has to get out of it very quickly, otherwise, he won’t be at the club. The standards are so high – I actually think the crowd cheered when he went off, which isn’t nice for anyone.”

Carragher later compared Maguire to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk. The United captain arrived at Old Trafford from Leicester City in 2019 for £80m, a record fee for a defender.

That was a status previously afforded to Van Dijk, when he joined the Merseyside club from Southampton for £75m in 2018.

“He gets criticised because he cost £80m,’’ Carragher added. “Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk for £75m and Van Dijk is the best defender in the world. He is a phenomenon. Harry Maguire isn’t that.

“But he doesn’t set the price – he had a great summer with England at the Euros [last year], but this season has been a disaster for him.”

Gareth Southgate is set to announce his latest England squad for their friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast on Thursday.

With Maguire’s recent form there will be question marks as to whether the Red Devils captain will receive a call-up to the team for those fixtures.