Erik ten Hag insists Harry Maguire is good enough to be a Manchester United regular again.
The 29-year-old shone for England at the World Cup before the Three Lions were beaten by France in the quarter-final on Saturday. Maguire started in every game for Gareth Southgate's side and impressed throughout, despite having barely played in the Premier League in recent months.
With England having returned home, Maguire is set to return to the Red Devils ahead of the second-half of the domestic season. United return to competitive action with a game against Burnley in the Carabao Cup next Wednesday, before they face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League a week later.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane were Erik ten Hag's first-choice centre-back pairing before the World Cup, with Maguire left to watch from the sidelines.
But with both players still in Qatar, Maguire could soon be back in the United starting lineup and given the chance to stake his claim.
Asked about Maguire during United's mid-season tour of Dubai, Ten Hag revealed that he wants Maguire to fight for his place and hopes he can bring his international form back to his club.
"I've been asked many times if he is good enough to play for me and it is clear he is good enough to play at the highest level," Ten Hag said. "He has, for England, almost all the time good games. Yes he had a period in Manchester where he performed badly and then of course there are difficulties.
"But when he is confident in himself, he will put that on the pitch. When he is working hard you will get that confidence and you are seeing that with the way he is playing for England.
"We want him to bring that back to Manchester with him so he can bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that he will be a great player for us."
He added: "When I choose Rapha it is nothing against Harry. Sometimes it is because one player is a lot better than the other. But I think I have two or three good players there in the right centre-back position.
"After Brentford, I chose. I had a feeling I had to change there – I had to change the mentality. He was unlucky that moment was bad for him. But it doesn’t say anything about his quality that he can’t do it or my opinion about his quality. I’m sure he has the potential to play in our style and fit into our system.
"The only thing Harry has to do is train well, perform well, he has games he has rhythm and his chance will come.
"He will have a chance to show it and then he’s in and he will play."
