Erik ten Hag has taken the first major decision to leave his imprint on Manchester United

Erik ten Hag was avoiding discussing Cristiano Ronaldo when he noted the promise of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as a partnership against Rayo Vallecano, only he had already assigned Harry Maguire first-choice status.

In that same discussion at AAMI Park in Melbourne last month Ten Hag clarified Martinez, a £55.3million acquisition, had been recruited to strengthen the team, not the squad. So Varane's omission for the opening weekend defeat to Brighton was inevitable.

Louis van Gaal admitted the captaincy guaranteed Wayne Rooney privileges and retrospectively conceded he was "over the hill". Rooney avoided an outright demotion by Van Gaal until a bruising Boxing Day at Stoke in 2015 that marked United's fourth consecutive defeat.

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Maguire's privileges have expired quickly. Other teammates were worse against Brighton and Brentford but Maguire's malaise goes back to the very start of last season and failure to close down Luke Ayling before he arrowed in Leeds United's equaliser.

Thereafter, the mistakes became more egregious. He was let off the hook against Southampton and West Ham, sustained an injury, returned at Leicester and the subsequent spiral was an unmitigated disaster.

Ralf Rangnick softened Maguire's relegation to the bench at Arsenal in April by citing the bomb threat to his home earlier in the week. He was injured for the next game at home to Brentford and scolded by a United fan piqued that he did not show sufficient appreciation for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Maguire was fortunate to start this season, although his pre-season performances were encouraging. He overcame an injury that prevented him from playing against Liverpool, a lapse against