Aston Villa should offer Harry Maguire an escape from his Manchester United nightmare.
That is the view of former attacker and CaughtOffside columnist Stan Collymore, who believes a move to Villa Park this summer for the Red Devils’ captain would be a ‘match made in heaven’.
Despite being made the club’s captain by former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Maguire, 29, has struggled in recent seasons.
Losing his place following the arrivals of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, Maguire has been forced to play a bit-part role under current boss Erik Ten Hag, and Collymore thinks this summer is the right time for the England international to sound out a new challenge, and has highlighted Unai Emery’s Villians as an ideal destination.
“He has to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“He’s a quality centre-back who puts his body on the line, but he does have his limitations; it’s just a case of putting others around him to mask those areas of weakness, and personally, I think a team like Aston Villa are able to offer him that. I would love to see him at Villa Park – I’d drive him from Manchester to the Midlands myself if I could.
“A club like Aston Villa and Maguire would be a match made in heaven – they’re big enough to match his ambition, they’ve got an experienced manager who could definitely get the best out of him and competition for Tyrone Mings would only be a positive thing.”
Villa currently have four registered outright centre-backs among their senior squad options; Mings, Ezri Konsa, Callum Chambers and Diego Carlos, but with the latter two starting just twice in the Premier League this season, it is clear Emery has his preferred partnership.
However, with Maguire a regular starter for Gareth Southgate’s England, as well as having experience playing for such a big club who continually compete in Europe, United’s skipper may be the exact profile of player Emery is looking for ahead of potential European football next season.
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