Harry Maguire's stats so far this season emerge, they could surprise Man Utd fans

Harry Maguire's statistics for Manchester United this season compared to last make for interesting reading.

There looked to be no way back for Maguire after he was stripped of the captain's armband in July, and reduced to a bit part player at Old Trafford.

All signs pointed the exit door after Erik ten Hag warned the 30-year-old that he had a "decision to make" about his career, with West Ham keen on signing him over the summer.

A string of poor performances and calamitous own-goal for England didn't help Maguire's case, either.

However, the former Leicester defender looks to have turned his United career around, following his recent displays for the Red Devils.

His redemption story started with a match-winning assist against Brentford, before he was awarded the player-of-the-match award for his performance at Sheffield United.

While he scored the only goal against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League, as the defender kept his club's European hopes alive.

And the upturn in his performances is clearly demonstrated within the statistics, which appear to show an entirely different player compared to last season.

Sky Sports

The graphic, produced by Sky Sports, shows Maguire is completing almost twice as many passes into the final third on average as he was last campaign, while his long passes have nearly doubled, too.

Indeed, the stats back up his manager's comments, who referred to his 'vertical passing' after United's win 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

"He's playing much more proactively in possession, stepping in, passing vertically," Ten Hag said. "He's defending on the front foot, defending forward, very confident in the duels."

While the Dutchman also claimed that Maguire was "dominating" at the back - the sort of praise United fans haven't become accustomed to hearing as of late.

"I think he is dominating in the right way with his aggression against opponents," he added. "You see he also gets rewarded. Of course, his heading is a skill... a very good finish."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.

Topics: Harry Maguire, Manchester United, Premier League, Erik Ten Hag, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno