Manchester United legend Paul McGrath reckons Harry Maguire has a big weakness in carrying the ball out from defence.
Centre back Maguire completed an £80million move from Leicester to United earlier this week, making him the most expensive defender of all time.
Maguire, who signed a six-year deal, is United’s third summer recruit after Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, as they attempt to close the gap on Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League table.
“I would trust that United will put in a system at the back to cover Maguire’s big weakness – one that will be exploited by the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, and also Europe’s elite strikers whenever Manchester United return to the Champions League,” McGrath told the Irish Independent.
(Image: Manchester United)
“Harry likes to carry the ball out – something all the top clubs look to encourage. But when the tactic goes wrong, as it occasionally must, he doesn’t have the blinding pace of Virgil van Dijk or Real Madrid ’s Raphael Varane to get back and tidy up.
“So there will have to be a bit of coaching work done at Carrington over the next few weeks, so that United’s other defenders in any game realise that they must not get caught going up the pitch alongside Maguire – someone must always be ‘minding the house’.”
United had been linked Napoli centre back Kalidou Koulibaly earlier in the summer, and McGrath thinks that would have been a better option for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
(Image: Manchester United)
(Image: SIPA USA/PA Images)
“I’d have preferred United to make a Red Devil out of Kalidou Koulibaly, the Napoli defender, ahead of Maguire.
“But I understand why the club went Maguire’s way instead.
“He’s two years younger and Koulibaly is Senegalese, which would have forced United to buy an English player in another position where they might want to import a player.”
