Erik ten Hag will decide on who will be the captain of his Manchester United side in the coming days or weeks, confirms Fabrizio Romano. Harry Maguire is the current club skipper for the Red Devils, but he isn’t assured of retaining that role next season.
Manchester United Captaincy Situation to Be Resolved Soon
Erik ten Hag Planning Talks With Individual Players Before Key Decision
Ten Hag has an important decision to make in terms of who will be the leader of his United side from next season onwards. There have been calls for Maguire to be stripped of the armband after failing to do anything about their disastrous season last time around.
But Romano adds that the Dutchman will personally speak to individual players before deciding on who will get the captain’s armband for his side. The 53-year-old is ready to start pre-season training on June 27 and will get to assess his squad soon after that.
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Maguire, however, is not sweating about the situation around his captaincy. The Englishman is calm and not concerned about the United manager’s decision as he and his teammates look to impress in this new project being set up at Old Trafford.
Potential Options to Become United Skipper
There are quite a few options in store for Ten Hag if he wants to replace the English centre-back as his captain from next season onwards. Romano himself advocates the possibility of making Cristiano Ronaldo the new skipper amid rumours of frustrations around the striker. Ronaldo also leads the Portugal side at the international level.
Here is what the transfer guru wrote for CaughtOffside: “Personally, I believe that Cristiano Ronaldo with his leadership can be an excellent captain but the internal decisions on these topics arise from many evaluations.”
However, if Ten Hag isn’t sure about giving Ronaldo the captaincy, there are other options. David de Gea is the longest-remaining active player in the current Red Devils’ squad, having been at Old Trafford since 2011. He was among their brightest performers last season and won their Players’ Player of the Year award.
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Bruno Fernandes is a major fan favourite and did lead the United side a few times last season in Maguire’s absence. He has quite a lot of leadership qualities as well as a hard-working nature to inspire those around him. Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof have both been captains at the senior level as well.
But, ultimately the decision to appoint the new United skipper will fall down to the new manager. Ten Hag will take some time to evaluate his option and resolve the situation in the coming weeks.
