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Erik ten Hag told he is making a mistake by letting Harry Maguire leave Man Utd for West Ham

Harry Maguire has been touted with a move away from Manchester United all summer long, however, Alan Smith thinks selling the defender is a mistake.

Maguire out of favor at United
West Ham want defender
Alan Smith believes selling Maguire would be mistake

WHAT HAPPENED? Maguire has been linked with a move to Premier League rivals, West Ham, who have had their preliminary bid rejected by Manchester United. Maguire was also stripped of the captaincy by head coach Erik ten Hag earlier this month with Bruno Fernandes taking over the captain's armband.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to Gambling Zone, ex-Man United and England forward, Alan Smith, said: "Realistically I think Harry Maguire knows he’s not going to play every game, he’s probably come to terms with that. But I think it will be up to Harry if he stays or goes. I suspect Ten Hag doesn’t want him to go because to go close you want those type of people at your club. He could play 20 games and be really consistent.

"When he first came there was a lot of pressure after that price tag to give him the armband anyway, and both pressures must have been difficult for him. It might help him to release some pressure if he stays. You look at other clubs, and to compete you need four class centre-backs to compete or at least three. He’s probably got a bigger part to play than people think. If they want to win the league and be successful in Europe they will need strength in depth. It will be up to Maguire if he needs first-team football every week."

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He added: "When Sir Alex Ferguson was manager there were four class strikers, four class central defenders, numerous class midfield players. But if you didn’t play Premier League at the weekend you would be playing on Tuesday or Wednesday night. If I were the manager I would want to keep him, but as a player he probably wants to play every week."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: West Ham are still looking to get the England defender despite the deal taking so long. The Hammers are hoping to sign Maguire as soon as possible as there were reports from The Sun about the deal potentially stalling.

Next matches

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WHAT NEXT FOR MAGUIRE? The defender is unlikely to be in the Manchester United squad for their game on Monday, August 14 against Wolves at Old Trafford.