Harry Maguire is one of the most targeted players by the fans in the Man Utd squad. While he is, what you call, a modern defender with his progressiveness over the ball both by his dribbling and his diagonal switches, the last couple of seasons hasn’t worked for the Man Utd captain. But with Onana coming in and Varane’s injury woes, my prediction for the end of the season is Maguire would retain his place in the starting eleven for most matches but might lose his captaincy. How does Onana's coming in impact Maguire’s place in the starting eleven?

In the previous seasons, Maguire had to cover a lot of ground in transitions because his former teammate De Gea didn’t command the box, didn’t sweep-keep, and naturally, Maguire lacks pace. Man Utd ranked 18th in defensive height last season ie because of De Gea’s inability on the ball and to protect themselves from transitions, United employed a system where their defense was closer to their own goal. Only Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw, are technical enough to play progressively despite the low defensive height.

Now, with the signing of a modern-day keeper like Onana, United can employ more control over their gameplay giving Maguire the time and space on the ball whilst they are protected by a keeper who is adept at commanding his box in transitions.

The signing of Mason Mount also helps Maguire as he now has 2 options in Bruno and Mount to pick in midfield. Maguire is one of the best progressors of the ball(96th percentile in the 19/20 season amongst defenders for progressive carries, 94th percentile in the 20/21 season for progressive passes) from deep. With consistent movement from Bruno and Mount, the midfield will be fluid enough to open up passing lanes for Maguire to pick. While this opinion could sound unpopular, with Varane’s injuries from time to time and Lindelof's lack of aerial ability, I find it intuitive that Maguire will retain his place in the eleven by the end of this season(if he is not sold before the window closes).