Rio Ferdinand wants Manchester United star to be dropped

Rio Ferdinand has called for the Manchester United star to be dropped for the time being after his disappointing performances over the past few months.

Football is a game of confidence, and when you lack it, things never seem to go your way. That seems to be exactly what is happening with Manchester United captain Harry Maguire as he continues to struggle at the heart of the defence.

Brought to Old Trafford from Leicester City for an astounding £80 million transfer fee that made him the most expensive defender in the world, the Englishman has never quite managed to deliver on the expectations. For the past few months though, his performances seem to be only getting worse as he is making mistakes at the back at an alarming rate.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that the Red Devils have conceded a whopping 12 goals over their first three Premier League games this season. And it might be time to drop Maguire for the time being until he recovers his confidence.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand seems to be of the same view. As reported by The Sun, he said:

"“It’s obvious to see he’s going through a bad spell.“Nobody is immune from having a downturn in form and confidence.“If you want to play well, then having that confidence is an absolute necessity.“He’s lacking that and it’s very evident in his performances.“In these situations – and I’ve been in them as well – you sometimes need to be taken out of the oven.”"

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Rio Ferdinand knows a thing or two about carrying the world’s most expensive defender tag. He was the same when he joined Manchester United back in 2002 for a then world record £30 million. Over his career, he more than repaid that though. Maguire has not yet.

It goes without saying that confidence plays a large part in any footballer’s performances. And at this point of time, Maguire’s seems to be at rock bottom. So much so that his England national team displays have suffered as well. He got sent off after just 31 minutes against Denmark after making two rash challenges in their 1-0 defeat in the Nations League.

Now, it is not hard to understand why Solskjaer would have second thoughts about benching his captain. He does have a lot of quality to bring off the bench either and Maguire’s £80 million price tag means that he is expected to be played every week. Sometimes though, being a top manager is about making those tough decisions. And this might be Ole’s chance to prove that he is one and capable of leading this side back to the top.