Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Harry Maguire’s recent resurgence for Manchester United has just been the sheer pace of the turnaround.

Harry Maguire looked like he would be leaving Old Trafford with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez preferred over the former Leicester City defender.

The Englishman was cheered onto the pitch by Arsenal fans during the Gunners’ 3-1 win over Manchester United back in September, but since then, the turnaround has been remarkable.

So much so that his recent performance against Luton Town, which was superb, highlighted once again that he should be the starting defender no matter who is fit or who is injured.

Maguire’s colossal performance

As mentioned, the Englishman was once again superb at the heart of the United defence against Luton Town and he now seems to have won over Erik ten Hag, who looked to have had previous doubts over his abilities.

In a nice moment for Maguire, the fans were once again singing his name, highlighting the sheer speed of the turnaround in form that he has gone through.

The defender was man of the match on a cold Saturday at Old Trafford and looked to be the real deal alongside a rather nervy defence at times.

Maguire completed 91 per cent of his attempted passes, made three clearances and completed 69% of his attempted long passes – the defender, at times, was playing with the confidence of a midfielder with the way he was gracefully carrying the ball forward from the back.

Defensively, Maguire has 4 Duels won, 9 Recoveries, 3 Blocks, 3 Clearances and 2 Headed clearances

The defender’s range of passing is on the level of Martinez’s, the pair would complement each other well when he returns in the new year.

Maguire’s role

The defender’s recent Old Trafford renaissance has only really been possible due to the injury issues that United have had in that position all season.

Nevertheless, Maguire has performed incredibly well and appears to be the real deal for the Red Devils in spite of those circumstances. The 30-year-old’s performance hasn’t been this strong since the 2020–2021 season, which was impacted by COVID-19.

He is deserving of his stripes. Under Ten Hag, he has consistently shown that he can be trusted. No matter which defenders are available to them, the Dutchman must now admit he made a mistake with the Englishman and start him.