Ten Hag has spent £100m trying to replace Maguire… but stats prove England ace is easily Man Utd’s best centre-back

ERIK TEN HAG has forked out £100MILLION trying to replace Harry Maguire – but the stats prove he is still Manchester United’s best centre-back.

Ten Hag ensured he was reunited with his ex-Ajax defenders as United chiefs paid £56.7m for Lisandro Martinez in 2022, before splashing £42.7m on Matthijs de Ligt this summer.

But the data SunSport has gathered shows that Maguire is actually by far and away the most in-form centre-half at Old Trafford.

After a solid debut season in Manchester, Maguire soon faced the wrath of fans, becoming a figure of fun for rivals and a soft touch for the experts after some questionable performances.

The fact that the England ace – who arrived from Leicester for £80m – was automatically handed the club captaincy by Ole Gunnar Solkajaer didn’t help his case.

He was soon stripped of the armband by Ten Hag in June 2023 – being replaced by Bruno Fernandes, after falling behind the first-choice pairing of Martinez and Raphael Varane.

And United even agreed to sell Maguire to West Ham last summer – before the former Sheffield United defender vowed to fight for his place.

And he’s done just that, proving that he’s arguably still the best centre-back at Ten Hag’s disposal.

In fact, Maguire has beaten Martinez and De Ligt in nine out of 13 stat categories recorded in all competitions so far this term.

Maguire has won the most duels with 5.3 per 90 minutes, compared to Martinez’s 2.9 and De Ligt’s 4.8.

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The England star also came out on top in interceptions won, possession won, and successful completed passes (61.81) per 90.

And he’s level with De Ligt in terms of goals scored (one) and total shots, despite starting four matches in all competitions this term.

Martinez comes out on top only in tackles made and won – which is synonymous with his “Butcher” reputation.

The Argentine enjoyed an impressive debut season in 2022-23 but his form significantly dropped after recovering from surgery on his metatarsal bone last summer.

Both Maguire and Martinez were in-and-out of the matchday squad last term, as United suffered an unprecedented number of defensive injuries and recorded a negative goal difference for the first time in Prem history.

Maguire started the first two Prem games this season, but was dropped for a mistake during Danny Welbeck’s opener in their 2-1 defeat at Brighton.

New signing De Ligt was brought in to start instead but has come under intense scrutiny for his own performances.

Particularly in United’s 3-0 home defeat to Spurs and the 3-3 Porto game where the Red Devils again lost a 2-0 lead.

Club legend Paul Scholes has frequently said: “I’m not convinced De Ligt is better than Maguire.”

Maguire was brought on in the final 10 minutes in the Europa League in Portugal when United trailed 3-2 – before his headed winner saved Ten Hag’s job at the death.

The 31-year-old and Jonny Evans were then trusted to start against Aston Villa, replacing De Ligt and Martinez – who many assumed would be the first-choice pairing going forward.

But Maguire faced yet another setback after suffering a fresh calf injury and left Villa Park in a protective boot, after he was replaced by De Ligt at half-time.

People scoffed at Maguire starting against Unai Emery’s side but Ten Hag will see his temporary loss as a big one.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk