At the turn of the calendar year, it looked inconceivable that Manchester United would secure a third-place finish in the Premier League and qualify for next season’s Champions League with relative comfort after a blistering run of form under Michael Carrick. However, that turned out to be the case, with Carrick securing the role of head coach on a permanent basis before sending his troops off on their summer holidays. Many of United’s first-team stars are working hard at the World Cup before their well-earned rest, but there are a few who have missed out on the competition, including defender Harry Maguire, who was controversially omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. United keeping tabs on players The centre-back quickly expressed his disappointment at not being in the U.S. with England, but has provided a glimpse into the life of a United player who has the summer to themselves. Maguire has been filling his time with a guest role on the ‘Rest is Football’ podcast that is keeping viewers entertained throughout the tournament. As reported by the Manchester Evening News, speaking on the podcast, Maguire revealed how United keep tabs on their first-team stars left to their own devices to ensure they report back to pre-season in decent shape. “Man United send you a schedule, they send you a GPS to make sure that you’re doing it. Yeah, they keep on top of you,” he said. Maguire and his teammates have little to no escape from the professionalism required to perform at the highest level, with United clearly leaving no stone unturned in their bid to start the new campaign in the best possible way. With the new fixtures announced last week, fans are already plotting United’s title charge, and with Maguire having the summer to rest and recuperate, he is expected to start the season in Carrick’s starting XI. Long rest period The former Leicester City man explained that without the World Cup, this summer will give him a healthy break from football before he reports back to pre-season ready to rock and roll once more at club level. “I’ll have had six-and-a-half weeks off but then to be honest, the pre-season, I normally get about three weeks before the first game,” Maguire said. The 33-year-old admitted it’s “a long way to build up” before he’s called back into action, but will hope to continue the strong form he has shown over the last 18 months and prove his doubters wrong once more. After being stripped of the captaincy under Erik ten Hag, Maguire’s days at Old Trafford looked numbered, but to his credit, he has fought back to prove to be a reliable member of the squad and has enjoyed a return to form under Ruben Amorim and now Carrick. As mentioned, barring an injury during pre-season, it’s highly likely Maguire will start the opening fixture of the new campaign and has the chance to nail down a first-team spot with some early shutouts against newly-promoted sides. United begin the season with a trip to Hull City before entertaining Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, with Maguire and co. expected to deliver back-to-back wins and lay down an early marker at the top of the table. Featured image by Shaun Botterill via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Conner Botterill Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for three years. A lifelong red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology through the Open University. His favourite match attended was the unforgettable night in Paris in 2019 under the guidance of one of his idols, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
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