Former Man Utd defender Paul Parker has questioned Michael Carrick’s continued faith in Harry Maguire.

The 33-year-old has been a regular starter since Carrick was appointed back in January, but speaking to Flashscore, Parker said that Maguire should be nowhere near the first eleven:

“I just think it’s madness (that Maguire continues to start at Manchester United). You’ve got young players there, and you start trying to move forward and start trying to introduce players who are going to take you towards possibly win a title, and then you might just make that one big sign, and then it clicks. ”

“But Harry Maguire has been there through all the poor times, and he’s got a few trophies, but they’re not the big ones. United are about the big ones, and they’ll be nowhere near the big ones whilst he’s about. So, they need to start looking beyond him, and for him to start the season, I think that tells you that they’ve got it completely wrong. For him to start the season, I just don’t think it’s right. They need to move forward.”

Man Utd are looking at potential centre-back targets

Parker is not the only ex-Man Utd player who feels an upgrade in the middle of defence is required. Paul Scholes has also been vocal in saying that the club should be looking to strengthen in that area.

The Red Devils have been linked with a few names – Chelsea pair Tosin Adarabioyo & Josh Acheampong, as well as Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis – in recent days, but they are not players who you would say are significant upgrades on Carrick’s current options.

Maguire could lose his place once de Ligt is fit

Carrick may be counting on Matthijs de Ligt coming back into the team over the coming days and weeks. The Dutchman is now available for selection, having returned to full training earlier this month.

However, he has not played a competitive game for 9 months due to a back injury, and he will need to be eased back into things to prevent any recurrence.