I did not see this happen. In the past few years, Harry Maguire hadn't proven his worth. He kept on making mistakes and was regularly being criticised for being slow. I was getting annoyed of seeing him play week in, week out.
He was bought for a world record fee of 80 million pounds. I was quite excited when this happened. However, as time went on, I got annoyed and worried when he played. I got worried because his mistakes were leading to goals being conceded and most of the times causing Man Utd to either draw or lose games.
He was made captain soon afterwards. One of the things that disgruntled me during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era was that he always played favourites - which included Maguire. Even when another player, such as Eric Bailly, played well, they would get benched the following matchweek. This caused massive forehead slaps and headaches.
When Solskjaer finally got the sack, Erik ten Hag came in and gave Maguire a chance to prove himself. However, soon enough, he saw what all the fans had seen for far too long. As a result, he was benched and found himself being 4th choice centre-back. He had to settle on watching from the sidelines and no one was complaining.
It was during this period that Gareth Southgate continued to pick Maguire in the England squad. Everyone was scratching their head at this. Southgate just continued to make excuses for why he got selected time after time. Everyone was in agreement that there were more deserving players that should've been picked.
At the beginning of the current season, he was stripped of the captaincy. To everyone who were paying attention to the situation, the direction was clear and obvious: he must exit the club in order to get minutes on the pitch. At this point, everyone wanted what was best for Harry Maguire. He was linked to a move to West Ham and a 30 million pound move was agreed. It fell through because personal terms couldn't be agreed.
This didn't change the fortunes for Maguire. He remained firmly on the bench. It was only due to an injury crisis that propelled him back onto the field. To the surprise of everyone, including myself, he put on good performance. Since then, he has become a prominent figure in the side. He has helped both defensively as well as offensively.
On a overall picture, I am pleasantly surprised by what has transpired. No matter what player comes to Man Utd, I will always support the player to do well. However, if I were to see them put on poor performances; I see them unworthy of being at the club. Harry Maguire would be one of them. However, his improved performances has impressed me - thoroughly.
Onward and upwards, Harry Maguire!