'NEVER CROSSED MY MIND'
Harry Maguire backed by England boss Gareth Southgate despite calls for struggling Man Utd star to be AXED from squad
GARETH SOUTHGATE had no issues giving two of Manchester United’s underperforming stars the boot.
But at no stage did the England manager consider removing Old Trafford skipper Harry Maguire from his squad, despite the defender’s torrid form this season.
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The national boss yesterday kicked off what could be an incredible 2022 for the Three Lions — or a massively disappointing one — by naming his squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast at Wembley.
There are just eight games to go for England before the World Cup begins in Qatar on November 21.
Right now, forwards Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are not in Southgate’s plans.
While their United team-mate Maguire has not played any better, he remains an integral part of the team.
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Maguire was injured for the start of Euro 2020 but still joined Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling as the only Englishmen in the team of the tournament.
As a result, the central defender has an almost infinite amount of credit in the bank with Southgate.
Asked about Maguire, Southgate said: “I don’t think it ever crossed my mind not to select Harry Maguire for this squad.
“He has been a key part of the starting XI that got us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final.
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“Clearly, he has not been at his very best. But I am pretty assured by how he has been with us — a consistently high level of matches over four years. It will be good to spend some time with him when he has got a few days without a game.
“That would be a good moment for everybody to clear their heads and get a new focus and stimulus with us for the next couple of weeks.”
Maguire has had a tough time at United this term.
The club’s trophy drought will now extend to six years — and some fans have turned on the defender nicknamed Slabhead.
Southgate added: “I know the club are going through a difficult period but you’ve got to look at who are our best players in the core of the team and he’s in that group.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s one of our best centre-backs and form, in that sense, is temporary.
“There’s always going to be a point at which people have got to play at a good level. He has been first choice for us for the last three years and I don’t see any logic in us leaving him out of a squad at this moment.
“I’m not sure who else would be coming in to play at a higher level who we could really hang our hat on at a World Cup situation in eight games’ time.
“It’s not been ideal for Harry.
“But I’ve got great faith that we can get him into a structure and way of playing that we’ve always managed to accentuate his considerable strengths.
“All players have areas where they need protecting and that’s what you try to do as a manager.”
MAN UTD MATTERS
While Rashford and Sancho have been left out, United team-mate Luke Shaw is included in the squad — though he has also struggled this season.
The England boss was asked whether it is important that United make the right managerial appointment in the summer which, in turn, would help Maguire, Shaw, Rashford and Sancho.
Southgate said: “I was a Manchester United fan when I was a kid, so I’m not going to hide that but I don’t think it’s right for me as England manager to comment on Man United per se.
“We want all our players to be playing as well as they possibly can. That’s clear.
“When you’re going towards a tournament you want headaches in terms of players playing really well, so who are we going to leave out?”
The one new addition to the squad is Crystal Palace’s 21-year-old centre-back Marc Guehi.
The Chelsea academy product has impressed at Selhurst Park since an £18million move last summer.
Southgate said: “We are always supportive of what the Under-21s are doing but the priority has to be the first team.
“With Marc, he has had a really consistent season. I have been really impressed with him on and off the ball, in the biggest games he has been very calm.
“There are some centre-halves that are pushing and were very close but we have added Marc and Ben White this time.
“We think it is a good opportunity to see some slightly younger centre-halves and see how they cope being with us.”
Southgate, meanwhile, is not worried that Chelsea’s off-the-pitch issues will affect either Mason Mount or Reece James.
The Three Lions boss added: “They haven’t called me. Players are adaptable, they are used to change, they are used to change of managers — certainly at that club.
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“Thomas Tuchel has dealt with it really, really well.
“And the players have shown with their performances on the pitch, they are continuing to win matches so their focus seems to be good.”
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