Manchester United warned not to repeat Aston Villa 'problem' in Harry Maguire debate

Darren Bent says Manchester United must tell Harry Maguire first if he is to be replaced as captain at Old Trafford after recalling how he lost the armband at Aston Villa.

The ex-Derby striker was talking to Talksport in which they discussed Maguire amid reports he is set to be replaced as skipper by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both United boss Ralf Rangnick and Maguire rubbished the reports with the former Leicester City centre-back set to continue with the role until the end of the season.

However, Bent says that if United are contemplating taking the armband off Maguire they should tell him before anybody else after his own experiences at Villa.

Bent claimed to Talksport that former Villa boss Paul Lambert had told Ron Vlaar he would be captain before himself and only learned of the decision before kick-off in a game against Swansea in 2012.

"I can remember it happening to me when I lost the armband at Aston Villa," he said.

"He (Lambert) already told the guy he was getting it before Paul Lambert had the conversation with me.

"Ron Vlaar got the armband. I am pretty sure he told me 45 minutes or an hour before kick-off.

"That's when he told me Ron was going to be the captain.

"He used the excuse that he wanted me to concentrate on scoring goals. That's fine but my problem was he told someone else before he told me.

"For Harry Maguire, it's important to have that conversation with him first if that's what he (Rangnick) is thinking."