Erik ten Hag may soon be forced to make unexpected Harry Maguire decision at Manchester United

Harry Maguire's Manchester United future has been up in the air for quite some time, with Erik ten Hag preferring a centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.

Earlier this summer, Maguire lost the United captain's armband, with Bruno Fernandes announced as the new club captain. In Varane’s absence, Victor Lindelof has often been the centre-back to partner Martinez, and yet Maguire isn't even fourth choice, with Luke Shaw often pushed inside when needed.

However, in United’s defeats against Arsenal and Brighton, Lindelof failed to perform anywhere near the level expected of him. Lindelof and Martinez were run ragged by Brighton's forward line, with the former failing to control the backline as Varane does, though injury worries are never often far away with the Frenchman.

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Earlier in the year, Varane announced his retirement from international football, meaning he had two weeks off during the recent international break.

On Tuesday, Varane took part in training and could be involved in United’s opening group stage game in the Champions League against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. Mason Mount was also involved while loanee Sofyan Amrabat trained alone.

When returning from injury on previous occasions, however, Ten Hag has looked to ease Varane back into games, meaning the door could be open for Harry Maguire.

Maguire has played just 23 minutes in the five Premier League games so far this season, though he did play for England in the recent international break, with head coach Gareth Southgate offering him his full backing.

Southgate said: “It’s a joke. I’ve never