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Harry Maguire's future at Manchester United is hanging in the balance, with the club under pressure to decide if he will be offered a new contract – or risk losing their Anfield hero as a free agent.
Maguire, who headed a late goal to seal a momentous win over Liverpool on Sunday, is entering the final eight months of his current deal and could sign a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January 1.
Having already triggered the 12-month extension in the six-year, £190,000-a-week agreement Maguire signed when he moved to Old Trafford from Leicester City in 2019 for £80million, United know they have to offer the England centre back a new deal before the end of the year to avoid him walking away for free on June 30.
Confidential understands a firm decision over Maguire has yet to be made. Although United are in regular contact with the 32-year-old’s camp, formal talks have yet to take place and there is no offer on the table. Also, any prospect of Maguire taking a pay cut would depend entirely on the length of a new contract being offered to him.
Maguire’s goal at Anfield was reminiscent of his sensational 121st-minute Europa League winner against Lyon last season.
Afterwards, he admitted it might have been his last appearance there in a United shirt, saying: ‘I’m in my last year now, so this could be the last time I played at Anfield for this club. It’s really important that I’ve come here and ticked that one off.’
United, who rejected bids from clubs at home and abroad for Maguire in the summer, are under pressure to maintain the number of homegrown players in their squad.
Maguire is one of only four over the age of 21, and veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton is likely to leave at the end of the season. Premier League teams are only allowed a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players.
Eye in the Sky
Sky Sports viewers got a glimpse of the post-match celebrations at Anfield following the 2-1 win over Liverpool as cameras were allowed into United’s dressing room for the first time.
It is part of the new £6.7billion domestic TV rights deal that kicked in this season, which gives clubs a choice between offering broadcasters the opportunity to interview the manager at half-time, a player just after he has been substituted, or access to the dressing room for at least 30 seconds after the game.
It is dependent on the club winning – or being in a winning position at the time – with each Premier League team obligated to do it twice a season.
United prefer the dressing-room access because they feel it is less intrusive, but plans to let the cameras in have fallen down twice already this season because Amorim’s team lost to both Arsenal and Manchester City.
Sky Sports viewers were invited inside the United dressing room after their euphoric win at Anfield
Ironically, Brentford made history when they became the first Premier League club to open their dressing room door to Sky Sports after beating United at the Gtech Community Stadium last month.
However, the camera at Brentford was a fixed camera device with no audio, whereas United fans got to see and hear Harry Maguire receive a hero’s welcome from his team-mates as he returned from a round of post-match interviews after heading a late winner.
Not including Amorim’s post-match press conference, Confidential understands that United conducted no fewer than 38 post-match interviews for rights holders at Anfield – the most they have ever done following a Premier League game.
Maguire, Matheus Cunha, Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Matthijs de Ligt and Bryan Mbeumo all spoke as part of the mammoth operation.
Goalkeeper Senne Lammens handled the written media in the mixed zone area, while head coach Amorim undertook several of his own interviews – a lengthy contractual obligation.
Many of the players who spoke typically front up in the worst moments and so there was a feeling that they deserved an opportunity to be in front of the camera after such a significant win. Plenty of tired legs and minds by the time they made it back to Manchester, though.
Reds bathe in the glory
It's a measure of the improvements at Carrington after its £50m renovation that a number of players stayed behind at the training ground long after United’s team bus pulled up at around 9.30pm on Sunday night to make the most of the upgraded facilities.
Around six or seven players spent time in the ice baths, hot tubs and saunas to aid their recovery after pulling off United’s first win at Anfield in nearly a decade – even though they had reported to Carrington at 11.30am that morning for the pre-match meal and team meeting.
Carrington has undergone a £50m revamp and now its facilities are hugely popular with the squad
The squad were back on Sunday when those who played in the 2-1 win had a light gym session and recovery, and those who didn’t had a more strenuous workout on the grass. Tuesday is a day off for all the players.
Licha’s all-clear
Lisandro Martinez is expected to join his team-mates in full training this week after making a more cautious return to action than originally planned.
Martinez was due to be fully integrated with the first-team squad last week as the remaining players reported back from international duty, after scans gave his injured left knee the all-clear.
As it turned out, the Argentina defender – who has been sidelined since early February with a ruptured ACL – was only partially involved with the rest of the group, but is set to step up his training this week and should make a return to first-team action before the international break next month.
Lisandro Martinez is finally set to rejoin the squad after suffering an ACL injury in February
Ban for ‘hair pull’ fan
The fan who assaulted Frank Ilett, the supporter who is refusing to cut his hair until United win five games in a row, has been identified and handed an indefinite ban from Old Trafford.
Ilett was assaulted on a concourse at the stadium during last month’s win over Chelsea by the individual, who appeared to take issue over the light-hearted challenge which has gained huge attention via his Instagram page The United Strand.
The incident was shared widely on social media, showing the angry fan grabbing Ilett’s hair before he was prevented from escalating the attack by other supporters.
Ilett is now on day 381 of the challenge, but the end may be in sight at last after United won for the second game in a row by beating Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The story has gained such wide appeal that Diogo Dalot was asked about Ilett by a Portuguese reporter after the game. ‘We’ll see. We hope that we can give him that haircut,’ said the United defender.
Former analyst tells all
United's former first-team analyst Tom Green – who worked under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Amorim – made an interesting appearance on a podcast this week.
Green lifted the lid on his interactions with each manager in his role as an opposition analyst, revealing how Mourinho liked his data in picture form, often with up to 100 accompanying graphics.
Jose Mourinho was highly particular about how he wanted his information presented to him while United manager
‘Jose was a visual learner,’ Green said, speaking on The Chris Gill Podcast. ‘He used to want what he called a “photoshop report” which was 90-100 images of graphical analysis. He used to deliver all the tactical meetings himself.
‘Jose could watch a video once and remember all the detail, everything… I’ve never seen someone walk into a room with so much aura and presence. He was really, really good at half-time. Really concise and clear. Just excellent.’
Green, who later left to work with Solskjaer at Besiktas, explained how much he learned under Ten Hag, the most ‘detailed’ of all the United bosses he worked with.
‘Ten Hag, I learned loads tactically from him,’ Green added. ‘Very, very detailed. Sometimes I lost the softer side with him because he was football, football, football all the time. I had a lot of face-to face-time with him.’ Worth a listen, United fans.
Extra safe standing for OT
New safe standing areas will be opened up in the second tier of the Stretford End for Saturday’s game against Brighton as Old Trafford moves closer to having more barrier seats than any other ground in the Premier League.
An additional 6,000 are being installed which will take the total to over 13,500 – or the equivalent of 18 per cent of the stadium capacity
The first phase was completed in time for the last home game against Sunderland, and Confidential understands barriers have now been installed for the vast majority of seats in the Stretford End following a rolling installation in recent weeks. The project will be complete by the time Everton visit Old Trafford on November 24.
United say there has been an ‘overwhelmingly positive response’ to the expansion, although they have no plans to implement it elsewhere in the stadium.
Extra safe standing seats are set to be introduced in the Stretford End
Munich charity’s debt of gratitude
The Munich Air Disaster is the darkest day in United’s history but, almost 68 years on, the outpouring of support for the club in its hour of need is still a source of comfort and camaraderie.
The Manchester Munich Memorial Fund held their annual gala dinner at Old Trafford on Friday night, raising more than £40,000 for charities in the North West, Munich and Belgrade.
A special presentation was made to officials from Bishop Auckland, the non-league club from County Durham who loaned three players – Warren Bradley, Bob Hardisty and Derek Lewin – to help United fulfil all their fixtures after eight of the Busby Babes died in tragic circumstances.
Bradley went on to join United on a permanent basis, making 67 appearances and winning three England caps.
As a token of the club’s gratitude, the MMMF presented Bishop Auckland with a frame displaying the ribbons from the annual wreath laying service at the Manchesterplatz memorial in Munich.
Meredith mural pops up
One for any history buffs: a new Manchester United mural has appeared just a short walk from the iconic image of Marcus Rashford in Withington. This one, situated nearby, is of Billy Meredith, a trailblazer who represented both United and City during his career.
Artist Jamie Steward has produced a blue-and-red mural to capture both sides of Meredith’s story.
It cements his legacy, which included helping United win their first league and FA Cup titles, as well as pioneering the first players’ union in 1907, the predecessor to the PFA that many current players depend on to this day.
The red and blue mural of Billy Meredith, who served both City and United with distinction in the early 20th century
Rohl call for ex-Utd shrink
United fans may be interested to see the name Sascha Lense pop up in reports on Danny Rohl’s appointment as the new manager of Rangers.
Lense joined United in December 2021 under interim boss Ralf Rangnick, becoming the club’s first full-time sports psychologist in two decades since Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant Steve McClaren brought in Bill Beswick.
The 50-year-old, who is the father-in-law of Timo Werner, worked alongside Rohl at Sheffield Wednesday and is set to join him at Ibrox after the German was appointed to replace Russell Martin.
