Man Utd boss Michael Carrick hints where he stands on Harry Maguire contract decision

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Michael Carrick has lavished praise upon Harry Maguire amid growing speculation over the Manchester United defender's future, saying it's 'hard to put a price' on his experience.

Maguire, 32, is out of contract at the end of the season and the club has yet to make a decisive move to keep him at Old Trafford beyond the summer. Maguire has played a key role in the team since Carrick became head coach last month and has recovered superbly from a chastening period of poor form that saw him lose the Manchester United captaincy.

The manner in which Maguire has quietly gone about his rehabilitation has earned him plenty of plaudits. And Carrick, whose fine start to life as United head coach has propelled him into contention to land the role permanently, has made it clear how highly he thinks of the England defender.

Asked about Maguire's contract situation, Carrick said: “Within the squad there is that balance, you want that younger potential and excitement and helping develop player, you need the sweet spot in the middle with players at the peak and experience is massive. It’s hard to put a price on how valuable that can be.

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“Harry has gained an awful lot of experience with this club. Casemiro leaving is another experienced one. It's something we've got to obviously understand and what that means.”

Maguire became the most expensive defender in football history when he joined in an £80million transfer from Leicester City back in 2019. After struggling during Erik ten Hag's premiership, he is now back performing at the top of his game and has started in all six of the games Carrick has overseen as head coach.

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Carrick was asked if Maguire was now better than ever and the former Middlesbrough boss again referenced the defender's experience in what could be perceived as another hint towards his stance on retaining Maguire beyond the current campaign.

“There is a case, as your career goes when you’re a young player and everything is fresh and knew your fearless and there’s not many scars there,” he added.

“You get to your peak years and you feel good and everything is there, but you’ve had a few ups and downs. You get towards the later times and the experience should make you a better player, we’ve seen that with Harry’s performances of late. That’s why experience is important, I felt it when I was playing, 31 or 32 were my best years of being and that sweet spot to do it physically still but use the experiences to know what is coming.”

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