Gareth Southgate keeps faith in Harry Maguire for England despite woes with Man United

Gareth Southgate has insisted he still has faith in Harry Maguire by declaring the out-of-form Manchester United captain has proved he can excel at the top level in international football.

The England manager said Maguire has credit in the bank after helping his country finish fourth in the 2018 World Cup and become runners-up in Euro 2020, when he was a pillar of the defence who did not concede in open play.

But while Southgate has retained faith in the centre-back despite some torrid times in a United shirt, he warned that his patience is not unlimited. He has dropped Maguire’s Old Trafford teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho and hinted that he is prepared to omit the defender if his struggles continue.

However, he is keen to reward players who have served him well in the past and Maguire, whose 41 caps have all come under Southgate, was named in Uefa’s team of the tournament for Euro 2020.

The England manager said: “He has helped get us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final so there is no doubt he is more than capable of playing for us at a high level. He was more than capable for us in autumn.

“Selection is always a difficult conundrum because we have got players we know have performed well in an England shirt. There has got to be some level of scrutiny of how people are performing with their clubs. That has got to be a factor.

“The club [United] are in a difficult moment and there could be any number of reasons for that. That doesn’t mean players can be poor for a couple of years and still find their way in. Sometimes it depends on competition for positions. We have left some forward players out who haven’t been in good form but there are direct replacements.”

Maguire is likely to begin