Manchester United fans booed Harry Maguire in a pre-season game against Athletic Bilbao after he made a costly error that led to their opponents taking the lead
Harry Maguire was booed by his own fans in a pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao (Image: Getty Images)Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend has defended Harry Maguire after he was booed by his own fans in pre-season.
Maguire was jeered during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao after making a mistake which led to a goal. Bilbao took the lead after Maguire gave the ball away, allowing Oihan Sancet to put Nico Williams through to score.
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Williams promptly produced an excellent finish, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Tom Heaton and into the back of the net. The incident sparked a chorus of boos from United fans, who Townsend believes went “a bit too far”.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Why has everyone got to jump on the bandwagon giving him grief? He’s had it pretty tough Maguire in that respect. People say it’s self-inflicted because he hasn’t played well enough, but I think just booing people for the sake of it almost is a bit too far.”
Maguire has been heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer, having been ᵴtriƥped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag. And with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez firmly established as his first-choice centre-back pairing, Maguire may struggle to play enough regular football to ensure he keeps his England place for Euro 2024.
England boss Gareth Southgate has repeatedly backed the defender, but has admitted he cannot “guarantee” a call-up for any player. Maguire made just eight Premier League starts last season and Southgate was recently asked about his future, telling talkSPORT : “We’re not in a world where we’re cuddling.
“We’re in the tough world of professional football. He’s got two World Cup winners in the team ahead of him, Varane and Martinez are top level players. When you’re at the big clubs you’re always going to be challenged, they’re going to sign players every summer, you’ve got to compete for your position and you’ve got to take that battle on.
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“If you’re Manchester United you want good backup as well, you’re going to get injuries, they’ve got Champions League football as well as trying to push for the Premier League. I’m sure they will be comfortable about Harry staying as back-up or being in the team, however that fight ends up.
“If he’s not in the team he’s got a decision to make as to whether he can go and play regular football somewhere else. Put England aside, the start point for any player is are they fulfilled in their job. Most players want to play every week.
“I can never guarantee a player we’re going to pick them. It’s [Maguire and John Stones ] a partnership that’s worked brilliantly for us, so we recognise that, but there’s always new challenges coming through. There are some good young centre-backs coming through who are slowly picking up experience and that is going to be the challenge going forward.”
