Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is reportedly training as often as “three times a day in the build-up to the new football season as he battles to regain his confidence and, hopefully, a place back in the team.
The 30-year-old spent much of the 2022/23 season on the bench for Man United and only really came back into the team to replace his injured colleagues, play cup ties or make short cameos towards the end of games. However, it looks as though the England international is fighting hard to get back on track.
Posting a number of images from a closed camp in Portugal along with the caption, “No Limits. No Excuses.”, the out-of-form centre-back gave a glimpse at the work he’s been doing in pre-season, where he’s been training one-on-one with former Chelsea and Real Madrid defender, Ricardo Carvalho.
Alongside teammate Diogo Dalot, it looks like United’s number five is determined to get back into the starting lineup or at least back to the levels that would make him desirable to another team, as he has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford for some time now.
Shedding some light on the three-week regime Maguire has been undertaking, journalist Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside that his current programme comes in the midst of a crucial period for the centre half whose future could be decided “in the next [few] days”.
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Romano claims that the decisive conversation with manager Erik ten Hag is looming large as “there are chances for Maguire to leave Old Trafford this summer”; the likes of Everton, West Ham and even a return to recently relegated Leicester have been rumoured.
ten Hag himself admitted that “no-one would be happy with this situation” insisting that Maguire “always trains to the best levels and with 100% effort, so if he handles that situation well and [in the right] manner”, then there is no reason why he can’t work his way back into the squad more regularly.
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Although it is said he could be about to officially lose the captain’s armband ahead of the new campaign, with Bruno Fernandes having essentially taken over the role last season, the Dutchman suggested that he can still be “important for the squad.”
With Lisandro Martinez having just come back from his long-term injury and Raphael Varane regularly dipping in and out of the side with fitness issues, the most expensive defender of all time could still very well have an opportunity to get back on the team sheet and stake a claim.
That being said, with club legend David de Gea having just left and transfer target Andre Onana being linked as the impending replacement as early as this week, United could be looking to complete what would be a largely new-look backline compared to the last few seasons.
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What do you think, is Maguire willing to fight for his place or is this simply a bit of shop-windowing?
Featured Image — Harry Maguire/Manchester United (via Instagram)
Sport
Wayne Rooney joins the cast of Gary Neville’s The Overlap
Danny Jones
Wayne Rooney has secured a new job just a few months on from departing as Birmingham City head coach, with the Manchester United and England legend being named as the latest member of The Overlap team.
Set to join the cast of the popular Stick to Football online series alongside the likes of former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, as well as the rest of the recurring panel.
Rooney is also set to feature on various other shows across The Overlap channel, including the likes of their regular fan debates and other interviews with athletes and well-known figures.
They announced the signing in true transfer window fashion as well.
As transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quips in the video, Rooney “has signed an agreement with The Overlap” and is expected to make his debut very soon
‘Wazza’ has appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports in recent weeks and has even been spotted playing some FIFA with comedy YouTuber AngryGinge as part of his pro clubs series, but hasn’t been in a steady role since being sacked as the Birmingham manager at the start of the year.
Having already appeared as a guest in one of the most popular episodes of Stick to Football and clearly sharing a strong chemistry with his old friends – as well as the likes of fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Ian Wright – it looks to be a natural fit for the sport-based channel.
The 38-year-old revealed some pretty interesting details about his playing and managerial career last time around, not to mention some of the other offers he’s had since…
Rooney reiterated during his own interview that his primary focus is still on coaching and finding his next managerial role, but for the time being, he’ll be bringing the insight of another ex-pro to the popular YouTube channel.
Speaking on his latest move, the former striker said, “I’m excited to announce that I will be joining my good mate Gary Neville and the team at The Overlap to appear on the channel across some of their brilliant shows on YouTube and the podcast. I can’t wait to get started”.
With an episode from at least one of their series going out most weeks, you can expect to see the footballing legend back on the channel soon.
Featured Images — The Overlap/Wayne Rooney (via Instagram)
Sport
Manchester City star Erling Haaland is now a playable character in Clash of Clans mobile game
Danny Jones
In yet more proof that footballers just live in an entirely different world from us, Manchester City star Erling Haaland has popped up in the popular mobile game, Clash of Clans – and it’s not just a little cameoeither.
Haaland‘s no stranger to the odd brand deal, so when we saw him cutting a promo for Clash of Clans we weren’t too surprised, but it’s safe to say we weren’t expecting to see footballers pop up in video games besides FIFA (sorry, EA FC) at any point this year.
The big number nine is not just a famous face to help push the already hugely popular mobile strategy and city-building game, they don’t need it; it turns out the lethal goalscorer is now going to be an actual playable character in the latest Clash of Clans update.
He even turned his hand to a bit of acting in the trailer:
As you can see, the 23-year-old stars in the new advert which sees troops appear in his home whilst he’s playing the game before being sucked into the game world.
Starring as the Barbarian King, he’s the first real person to ever feature in the game and will be available through a month-long football-themed seasonal event in-game.
When we stop and think about it, the Norwegian striker is pretty much a perfect fit given his Scandinavian heritage and the obvious Viking theme surrounding the franchise – not to mention the fact that he’s apparently been playing the game since he was 10.
He’s also been dropping a hint or two of late, in case you didn’t pick up on them.
Speaking on the collaboration, Haaland said: “I’ve been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it, so to appear as an in-game character is really cool”.
As for Finnish developer-publishers Supercell, CoC’s general manager Stuart McGaw said in an official announcement: “When we heard Erling Haaland was a fan of our game and that he wanted to partner with us, it was really a dream scenario.”
Haaland will be available to recruit in the game until 31 May, plus, if players raid his village and take down the Barbarian King himself, they can win additional rewards and a place on the leaderboards.
Danny Jones -
10th July 2023 
