Erik ten Hag fires warning to Harry Maguire as he heaps praise on Raphael Varane

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has warned Harry Maguire that being club captain does not mean he will be selected, while also gushing over the talents of Raphael Varane.

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After starting in the defeats to Brighton and Brentford at the start of the season, Maguire was dropped to the bench and replaced by Varane for the meeting with Liverpool on Monday.

The Red Devils were vastly improved in that match and beat Liverpool 2-1, with the Frenchman partnering summer signing Lisandro Martinez at centre-back.

Cleary the turnaround wasn’t entirely down to the absence of Maguire, but the England international may well struggle to get back into the starting XI in the near future after hearing his manager’s comments.

The Dutchman could not speak highly enough of Varane, while also talking up how Bruno Fernandes performed as captain when he took on the armband from Maguire against the Reds.

‘I don’t think it means that when you are captain you are established to play always, especially when you also have Varane in your squad,’’ Ten Hag told of Maguire’s hopes of returning to the side.

‘There is competition, and we need that. Varane’s stature is immense. When the team needed him, he was there.

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‘His profile, stature and what he won in the past shows he can really contribute. We have so many games and we can see from game to game what we need. There are many options.’

On the captaincy, Ten Hag added: ‘We have a leadership group and Harry is one