Erik Ten Hag: Man Utd captaincy doesn't guarantee Harry Maguire a start

Erik Ten Hag says the captain's armband does not guarantee Harry Maguire a starting role as the Manchester United manager spoke enthusiastically about the "immense" stature of Raphael Varane.

Last season was one to forget for all connected to Old Trafford, where a porous defence shipped 57 goals – the club's worst-ever tally for a single Premier League campaign.

Maguire came in for particular criticism but Ten Hag threw his support behind the under-fire England centre-back, confirming at the start of United’s pre-season tour that he would retain the captaincy.

But the 29-year-old dropped to the bench on Monday following the defeats to Brighton and Brentford, with summer signing Lisandro Martinez instead partnered by Varane in the 2-1 win against rivals Liverpool.

"We have options and, as you already said, Varane, his stature is immense," Ten Hag said. "In pre-season, we had to build him physically so a bit slower start.

"He was fit in the first games but in the first period of the pre-season he wasn’t always, so we’re happy we built him in that way and you see when the team needed him he was really there.

"His profile, his stature or what he won already in the past shows he can really contribute to this team.

"For the team there’s competition and we need that. We have to cover so many games and we can do that in several constructions and we can see from game to game what we need.

"That can be the construction from Liverpool but also as in the second half in Brentford, we play with Varane and Maguire in the centre so there are many options.

"I forget now about injuries. Victor Lindelof did really well in pre-season so I am happy that he will be back in the squad so we will have another option.

"Also internal we have competition and