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Ruben Amorim says Harry Maguire has become a leader again for Manchester United.
Maguire was stripped of the captaincy by former manager Erik ten Hag in July 2023 and came close to joining West Ham a month later after the club accepted a £30million offer.
Since those trying times, Maguire has had an impressive 18 months and was treated to a standing ovation from the 7,956 United supporters in attendance for the FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal.
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Maguire was forced off in extra time as he had missed two training sessions in the week through illness and he will be assessed ahead of the Premier League visit of Southampton on Thursday evening.
Amorim said Maguire was “dead” when he was replaced by Leny Yoro in the 104th minute on Sunday. “I think he changed the way he sees himself,” Amorim said. “I believe a lot in Harry. I said this when we signed the new contract – you can say the new contract. He needs to improve on the pitch and outside the pitch.
“You can see the way he plays now is different because he believes a lot in himself. I think we have to praise Harry more than me. He’s doing a great job.
“He was sick in the last game. He was dead in the end. That’s what I want from every player. He has to continue to do a good job.”
Maguire came to prominence playing in a back three under Gareth Southgate when England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. The 31-year-old played in the set-up several times for United during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure and Amorim is wedded to a 3-4-3 formation.
Amorim has started Maguire in United’s past five matches and tweaked the England international’s positioning. Maguire has often played on the left of a back three but, with Lisandro Martinez a left-footer, Maguire has occupied the middle with Matthijs de Ligt or Yoro on the right.
“I think he can do both (play in a back three and a back four). It’s really good for him, not just without the ball but with the ball,” Amorim explained.
“He’s always in the centre. He’s not on the left side or the right side. I think he’s really good with the ball in that position. In the future he will have more space to cover because we will not play with four in the back. We will play with three in the back.
“But in this moment, with a lot of crosses, you can see it when we are defending more low. Arsenal did a lot of crosses with Harry. We control that area. It’s really important. Set pieces are really important for us. You can see in this league it’s really important to be good in set pieces.
“I think the system is really good for Harry. But like I said, the most important thing is Harry. He feels more like an important player in the team. And as a leader. I feel that he’s a leader again. So it’s really important for us.”