'Cruel' - Ian Wright hits out at Manchester United fans behind Harry Maguire bomb threat

Ian Wright has defended Harry Maguire in light of a recent bomb threat received by the Manchester United captain and labelled those responsible as ‘cruel’.

Maguire, 29, has struggled with his form this season following injury issues and a reduced summer break due to last summer’s European Championships.

Last week, the Englishman received a bomb threat to his house, ordering him to leave Old Trafford with United sitting sixth in the Premier League and nearly five years without a trophy.

However, Wright, the former Gunners striker, believes Maguire has been wrongly singled out for United’s failures and thinks the team’s lack of structure leaves the defender exposed.

Speaking to Stadium Astro, he said: ‘Social media will do that to you. People are cruel. The guy is going through poor form and it seems to be lasting a lot longer than it should. But that happens.

‘Harry Maguire didn’t ask United to pay £80 million for him. But he’s gone to Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and with that comes a massive amount of pressure.

‘Yes, you see him make mistakes that an £80 million player shouldn’t make but for me it’s poor form and in a poorly constructed team. In the way they play, he gets exposed a lot and makes mistakes. And with that comes criticism.’

Maguire sat out the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday with interim manager Ralf Rangnick suggesting his captain’s absence was as much a tactical decision as it was to do with the bomb threat.

Since joining United from Leicester City in 2019, Maguire’s fortunes have taken a dramatic turn in Manchester.

In his first season, he improved United’s defence significantly as they conceded 36 league goals, just three fewer than champions Liverpool.

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