England defender Harry Maguire has been stripped of the Manchester United Captaincy. This was revealed by both the player and the club on Sunday in separate statements on social media.

It is, however, unclear if West Ham United’s interest in the defender is one of the reasons for the action by Erik Ten Hag. The English International was named skipper of the Red Devils by Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in 2020, barely five months after he joined the club from Leicester City.

The club thanked Harry for his contribution as captain over the past three and a half years and stated that manager Erik Ten Hag will announce a new captain in the coming days as they prepare for the tour of the US. 

Maguire played in half of the club’s 62 matches in all competitions last season, while Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes was deputy skipper. 

“After discussions with the manager today, he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me, and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt. I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. Since the day I took on the role three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date.” Maguire said.

Last season, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were more favoured by Ten Hag than last season, with Victor Lindelof coming in to deputize when the Argentine was injured.

Meanwhile, West Ham United are interested in signing Harry Maguire, who is still contracted to Manchester United till 2025. Manchester United needs to sell players to facilitate their move to sign Andre Onana, and that has put Maguire’s future in doubt.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu