Harry Maguire is Manchester United's most expensive centre-back and yet he's currently fourth-choice in that position. Erik ten Hag hasn't been afraid of making the big decisions and that includes regularly naming the club captain on the bench.
Maguire hopelessly underperformed last season and that brought his position as captain under immense scrutiny, but Ten Hag insisted he would retain the armband in the summer, although that hasn't guaranteed him starts, which it had previously.
The defender started against Brighton and Brentford and he was part of the side that embarrassed the history of the club in those two humiliating defeats. Ten Hag then dropped Maguire to the bench against Liverpool and United progressed.
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Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have established a formidable partnership this season and Victor Lindelof has performed well in the absence of the latter, who has been sidelined ahead of the World Cup with a hamstring injury.
United were criticised for signing Martinez from Ajax in the summer for a fee of £46.8million, rising to £55.3m, on a five-year contract, but the Argentine has been an outstanding addition and he's already a contender for the club's Player of the Season award.
Martinez has started on the left side of the centre of defence, which is where Maguire once started under previous management, and Ten Hag has made it clear that Varane and Lindelof are his preferred candidates to play alongside Martinez.
“I have to think about it,” Ten Hag recently said when asked if Lindelof was the third-choice centre-back. “I have to see Aston Villa, and it's going to be difficult because we don't know, it's a new manager. So I have to have a look and analyse that team.
"Then we have a choice. But, I just said, Licha [Martinez] and Victor, they played really well together over some more games but I think also Licha and Harry on Sunday against West Ham United: also a clean sheet and they also did really well.
“It's a choice I make. When I choose one there is nothing against the other.”
Ten Hag was non-committal when asked about the centre-back pecking order, but his actions are louder than words and it was Lindelof, not Maguire, who started after that interview, while the Swede also started against Fulham last weekend.
Lindelof has delivered consistently strong performances this season, with his only blemish coming in the 3-1 defeat at Villa Park, and he's deserved to be 'third-choice' ahead of Maguire, who has made just three starts in the Premier League so far this season.
Although it's understood that Maguire has remained a dedicated professional at Carrington and in the dressing room, despite having to come to terms with his reduced role with Ten Hag in charge, he's facing a stiff challenge to get back into the team.
When Varane returns from the World Cup and providing he's fit, he'll start alongside Martinez and Lindelof will be played in the absence of either of those players, which means Maguire will get even fewer chances than in the last few weeks.
There has been a suggestion that although Ten Hag appreciates Maguire's professionalism, he does not see a long-term future for the centre-back at the club and it seems like the player is quickly running out of time to change the Dutchman's mind.
Maguire is currently at the World Cup, which begins on Sunday, with England, though, and that's the opportunity he's been waiting for to send a message to Ten Hag. Maguire has always been a Gareth Southgate favourite and he's expected to start.
His club form does not entitle him to start for England, but he was excellent at the World Cup in 2018 and he was named in the Team of the Tournament at Euro 2020, which suggests that Maguire has reserved his best performances for his nation.
It's almost certain that Southgate will start Maguire on Monday against Iran in the opening group game, which means he's got 29 days, should England reach the final of the competition, to show why he shouldn't be fourth-choice centre-back at Old Trafford.
Maguire will get the chance to start for England and it's an opportunity he can't squander.
He might just save his United career with his performances in Qatar.
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