England boss Gareth Southgate has issued a warning to Manchester United centre back Harry Maguire saying “it can’t continue forever”.
Maguire has been a feature in England’s squad since Gareth Southgate took over the position of manager, putting in some solid performances in the Euros and World Cup competitions.
The Yorkshire-born defender hasn’t had the most enjoyable time at club level this season, however, finding himself as Erik ten Hag’s 5th choice centre back of late. Maguire also received a huge backlash from United fans who blamed him for their recent Europa League failure against Sevilla.
Whether as a result of those errors, or simply to protect Maguire from any abuse, he has since struggled to earn game time for United.
Despite this recent calamity, Southgate selected Maguire for England’s last outing, much to the criticism of fans. The Three Lions did, however, come away with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in the Euro 2024 qualifying fixture.
Things may not be as plain sailing as they seem for Maguire when it comes to his place in the England squad, with Southgate issuing a stark warning his way.
The England chief recently made the comment “it can’t continue forever” in regards to Maguire’s almost non-existent game time for Manchester United. He reiterated that, with emerging talent in the England backline, he can’t play Maguire if he isn’t getting regular game time at club level.
Southgate said of the situation “Inevitably it’s not a situation that can continue forever”
“Of course the longer that situation goes on the more concerning it is and we’ve got in Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk, Tyrone Mings, players who are playing well without the same experiences of club European football or international football. But we’ve got to keep searching for competition in that area of the pitch.”
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It will be interesting to see whether or not Southgate selects Maguire for England’s next Euro 2024 qualifiers, which are against Malta and North Macedonia respectively.
The Three Lions take on Malta on June 16th, and North Macedonia on the 19th, with both matches kicking off at 7.45PM.
