Harry Maguire's highlights from his striker cameo for Manchester United against Real Sociedad have been posted online and they don't disappoint.
United beat Sociedad 1-0 away from home in their final Europa League group stage fixture courtesy of a first goal from Alejandro Garnacho after an assist from his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
But United needed to win by two clear goals and so finished second to Sociedad, who scored one more than them in the Group E campaign.
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Desperation kicked in late on for Erik ten Hag, who threw the kitchen sink at it in an attempt to try and get the goal they needed.
And the 'Plan B' the Dutchman adopted was to bring on captain Maguire and partner him with Ronaldo up top.
Christian Eriksen and Garnacho came off, with Fred and Maguire entering the fray in the 82nd minute.
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That meant we got 13 minutes of 6ft 4 Maguire causing absolute chaos as a makeshift striker and it was everything we would have hoped for.
The former Leicester City and Sheffield United centre-back had long punts and crosses pumped into him in the hope he would get something on it to create a chance.
He was even pulling wide on the left to try and get involved in the play, initially showing some fine strength and skill in one sequence before giving the ball away.
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United couldn't find that all-important goal but someone created a compilation of Maguire's display and it's safe to say Ten Hag won't need to sign a new striker in January with HM9 knocking about.
Social media exploded with reaction to Maguire playing up top, with fans not quite believing what they were seeing.
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One wrote: "Just watched 12 minutes of Harry Maguire playing striker."
Another said: "Harry Maguire playing as a striker and running the channels."
A third commented: "Harry Maguire is playing striker for Manchester United. Help."
A fourth added: "Playing Harry Maguire up top felt like some sort of message to the Glazers to get him a striker. Surely that's all it can be."
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A fifth joked: "Ten Hag is among the greatest managers up there, he’s transformed Maguire into a striker in less than 6 months, the biggest transformation in world football."
Explaining why Maguire was deployed in attack, Ten Hag said: "We needed the goal and then we went more opportune. "With Cristiano and Harry Maguire, you have two good headers and we tried to go more direct into the box and I think we did several times, quicker to get into the box for the opponent."
Surely it's only a matter of time before the England international gets a new striker card on FIFA 23. Harry Kane's position as England's number nine might just be under threat for the World Cup.
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport & YouTubeTopics: Harry Maguire, Manchester United, Europa League, Real Sociedad, Erik Ten Hag
