Ralf Rangnick must look beyond Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire for perfect captain

Ralf Rangnick has said Harry Maguire will be his Manchester United captain until the end of the season.

Fair enough. Obviously, Rangnick would need a temporary captain if he decided Maguire was not worthy of a place in the starting eleven but if the England man is out there, he is skipper, it seems.

But there is a decision to be made in the summer by whoever takes over from Rangnick.

Or by Rangnick himself, in the extremely unlikely event of him staying on as manager.

For what it is worth, I believe Maguire has good leadership skills. Those of us who were allowed into matches during lockdown soon realised that Maguire is certainly the most vocal of United players, if that’s how you like your captains.

And there is a balance to be had if a manager is thinking of switching the armband.

Maguire’s form this season has been patchy, to say the very least.

Several of his contributions have deservedly come under critical scrutiny, to put it politely.

There is an argument to say that, going forward, he should be relieved of captaincy duties so that he can fully concentrate on his game.

There is also an argument to say that taking the honour away from him would further damage his confidence.

But if, ahead next season, the Manchester United manager finds the first of those arguments the most compelling, then Maguire should not be replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo, he should be replaced by David de Gea.

After the win over Brighton last Tuesday, all the talk was of Ronaldo breaking his goal drought in nice style and United players giving the ref a hard time.

De Gea’s feedback on the match became a little lost but the gist of it was to say that while they would fight for a top-four slot, they really ought to remember they should be