Gareth Southgate reveals why he has continued to pick Harry Maguire in England squads despite his lack of game time at Manchester United

England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed why Manchester United defender Harry Maguire continues to play in the national team despite his lack of game time at the club level.

Maguire has found it hard to break into the United first team under manager Erik ten Hag. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have been the first-choice defensive pairing at the club.

Despite that, Maguire continues to be a key player for England and his performances for the Three Lions are significantly better as well. Speaking about the centre-back's continued selection, Southgate told talkSPORT:

"I can never guarantee a player that we're gonna pick him. We’ve compared experience, aerial presence, qualities with the ball, balance..The relationship that him and John Stones have had over a long period of time. It is a partnership that's worked brilliantly for us."

Southgate added:

"We've recognized that. But, there's always some new challenges coming through.... That is gonna be the challenge moving forward."

Maguire signed for Manchester United from Leicester City back in 2019 for a fee of £80 million and has since made 175 appearances for the club. The Englishman, however, made only 31 appearances across competitions during the 2022-23 season, starting 16 of those matches.

Maguire, though, remains a crucial player for England, making 57 appearances for the Three Lions.

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Raphael Varane spoke about his chat with Manchester United new signing Andre Onana

Manchester United have already completed a mega transfer in the summer transfer window as they have acquired Andre Onana from Inter Milan. The Cameroonian goalkeeper arrives as a direct replacement for David de Gea, who left as a free agent.

Onana is an adept passer of the ball and has the distribution skills that suit Erik ten Hag's style of play.

Defender Raphael Varane recently spoke about the chat he had with Onana after his move to Old Trafford. The Frenchman said (via the Red Devils' website):

“I spoke with Andre as well to tell him it will be very special to play in that place. So he's ready and I hope every signing is ready for that feeling. I think we worked a lot [over the summer] and we are ready. It's the next step to be ready for the start of the season.”

Manchester United are set to play RC Lens in their next pre-season friendly on August 5. The clash is set to take place at Old Trafford and would mark Onana's home debut, albeit in a friendly.