Gareth Southgate says he is willing to stake his "reputation" on Harry Maguire, offering the struggling Manchester United centre-half his full backing as he described him as one of England’s “best” and “most important” players, who can do things in the squad that others can’t. The international manager went so far as to describe Maguire and John Stones “as good as any in world football at” progressing up the pitch with the ball.
Such is the 29-year-old’s standing in the England squad that Southgate said he didn’t feel the need for any additional talks with him, despite being dropped from the United team. The feeling around the England camp was that Maguire would start the game against Italy at the San Siro on Friday night, and he clearly remains one of Southgate’s first-choice centre-halves. That was made pretty clear by his pre-game comments, as the England manager stressed he would be willing to stake his “reputation” on such decisions.
