Gareth Southgate sends message to Manchester United captain Harry Maguire about form

Gareth Southgate has backed Harry Maguire's consistent ability to perform for England and insists he's proven himself someone who can play at the highest level.

The Manchester United captain has had a difficult season at club level but he's retained his spot in Southgate's Three Lions squad and is set to start tomorrow's (Tuesday) friendly against the Ivory Coast at Wembley. Maguire was named in the team of the tournament at last summer's European Championship but his club form has fallen apart this year — although his performances for England still carry some weight for Southgate.

The England boss accepts form at club level has to come into the equation at some point but at the moment Maguire still has his backing.

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“He has got us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final, there’s no doubt he’s more than capable of playing at the highest level, he was very good for us in the autumn," said Southgate.

"The club [United] are in a difficult moment, 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, and sometimes it depends on the competition for positions.

“Selection is always a difficult conundrum, we have players we know have performed well in an England shirt. There’s got to be a level of scrutiny with how players have performed at their clubs, because that has to be a factor within it. It’s a complicated thing, I know everyone has a view on who we should and shouldn’t be picking."

Southgate left out United pair Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho from this squad as a result of the competition for places in attack, but full-back Luke Shaw started and scored