Man United fans think Erik ten Hag forgot Harry Maguire is club captain in interview

Manchester United fans are convinced that Erik ten Hag forgot Harry Maguire is the club's captain prior to the 2-2 draw with Spurs.

Maguire has started just seven Premier League games this season, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane the preferred pairing at the heart of the defence.

Both picked up injuries and that led to Maguire coming in against Sevilla, scoring an own goal and making a huge error across the 5-2 aggregate Europa League quarter-final defeat.

He was absent from the FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out win over Brighton due to suspension and an injury picked up in training ruled him out of the Spurs clash on Thursday.

Bruno Fernandes, who has worn the armband for large parts of the season, was passed fit despite being pictured wearing a protective boot and next to a set of crutches after going off with an ankle problem at Wembley.

Ten Hag spoke of his delight that Fernandes was able to start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but caused a stir by describing him as "our captain" when Maguire is still officially the skipper.

Image: Alamy

He told MUTV: “Of course, he’s ready, it’s Bruno Fernandes. He’s tough, he takes responsibility, he wants to play.

"He’s a big player for us, and he makes a big impact in every game. He’s our captain, so we’re really happy.”

And of course that led to plenty of reaction amongst fans, who were torn between thinking it was a deliberate comment from Ten Hag or a genuine mistake.

One wrote: "He’s our captain’. At least he’s acknowledging that Maguire isn’t REALLY the captain.”

A second agreed: "Ten Hag is careful with his words so this means something.”

A third had a different view, writing: “Lmao. This guy has forgotten he has Maguire.”

Another commented: "He's our captain. Does he know."

A fifth user tweeted: "Wow!!!!! Maguire in the mud."

A final fan weighed in: "Slip up of words my friend."

Image: Alamy

Just 15 of Maguire's 28 appearances this season have been starts and his future looks unclear going into the summer transfer window.

Marcos Rojo, who played with Maguire, claims previous manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was only playing him because of his £80 million price-tag.

He accused Maguire of "making huge mistakes every week" and expressed his frustration over his lack of game-time in the 2019/20 season.

In an extraordinary interview with TyC Sports, the Argentine said: "In 2019 I was playing in the Europa League, but I was really angry with the Manchester coach [Solskjaer] because he was putting Maguire [in the team] instead of me, who thank god finally they took him out from the starting line-up for Licha [Lisandro] Martinez.

"One day I went to Solskjaer’s office to tell him to let me leave for the other club or put [me] in the starting line-up, but he told me that Maguire had to play because of the money they paid for him."