Man United duo told they have no future under Erik ten Hag after Liverpool win
Manchester United duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire have been warned they have no future at the club under Erik ten Hag after the performance of the side against Liverpool. Former United defender Paul Parker and ex-Tottenham striker Darren Bent are both on the same page when it comes to the Red Devils pair.
Ronaldo and Maguire were both left out of Ten Hag’s starting XI for Monday’s 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford. Ten Hag said he left Ronaldo out because he wanted his striker to be able to press more from the front, and he claimed selecting Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at the back gives his team more mobility in that area.
Ronaldo has made it clear he wants to leave United in this window. Parker says moving the 37-year-old on would be the right decision but also suggests Maguire would be better off elsewhere too following Ten Hag’s comments.
He told talkSPORT: “When I look at Ronaldo I think that they need to cut their losses and let him go. He’s unhappy, he wants to play every week and I think they’ve got to let him go even if they have to pay him off or something.
“I don’t think they’ll get much money for him. But I look at Harry Maguire and Ten Hag mentioned something that he was looking for in his back line and he wants mobility and pace.
“Straight away, there’s two words there that make it difficult for Harry Maguire to be playing regularly for Manchester United. To see the first goal that comes from Martinez, as soon as the ball comes to him he passes it out wide to [Anthony] Elanga – he’s not having two or three touches to make his mind up.
“United were a much better team going forward because they were getting the ball into midfield a lot quicker than the back four that they’d been playing with over the last few years.”
Chelsea have been linked with a move for Maguire in recent days. And Bent believes that would be a good move for the England defender.
He said: “It’s mad that Maguire is being linked with Chelsea, but do you know what is really mad? Maguire’s form has fallen off a cliff but if he was put into Thomas Tuchel’s system with Thomas Tuchel as a defensive-minded coach, I think he’d be better.
“I’m not saying he’d be a world beater, but he’d be better. It comes down to having a good coach at the end of the day.”
Bent also agrees with Parker that there is no place at United for Ronaldo. He added: “I get it – a lot of people say, ‘How can you not play Ronaldo in this team?’
“I think if Ten Hag wants to play that high-energy, high-pressing, all-guns-blazing [style], unfortunately you can’t play Ronaldo. That’s no slight on Ronaldo, you’re talking about one of the greatest players you’ve ever seen. But in that system… he’s 37 years old.”
