Man Utd are back in Premier League action against Brighton on Saturday and Ten Hag has a big decision to make.
He's exclusively played for some of Europe's biggest clubs at just 25 years old and arrived in Manchester this summer with the sort of pedigree most footballers dream of having. United signed De Ligt from Bayern Munich for €45m with a potential further €5m in add-ons earlier this month and that seemed a reasonable fee.
De Ligt has been signed to start and the expectation is he will partner Lisandro Martinez, but Maguire started on the opening day and won't give up his place without a fight. Maguire enjoyed a renaissance last term and clawed his way back into the starting side, despite losing the captaincy, which demonstrated his impressive resilience and determination.
United's defenders dropped like flies and Maguire could have opted for a spell on the sidelines to get fully fit when his body was tested in April - but he didn't and continued. Maguire played through a knock away from home against Bournemouth on April 13 and was spotted clutching his left thigh in pain. Although it seemed likely he would be substituted at half-time, he received treatment in the dressing room and emerged for the second period.
Maguire picked up where he left off against Fulham and was one of United's best players, making crucial interventions when Fulham were close to Andre Onana's goal and seeming to meet every ball that was crossed into the box with his head. It would be wrong to name Maguire on the bench against Brighton on the back of that impressive performance, which means the wait for De Ligt's full debut should go on.
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