is set to drop captain Harry Maguire for his side’s must-win Premier League match against on Saturday.
The beleagured skipper’s season reached its nadir on Friday when even his own teammate, Eric Bailly, posted a message on social media and effectively begged his manager to start him in place of the England centre-half.
Maguire has endured a testing campaign during which he has been regularly criticised for a string of under-par performances and failing to show the leadership skills required to harness a fractured dressing room.
The former defender was again culpable in Tuesday’s chastening 4-0 defeat at Anfield against a rampant Liverpool, after which he and his family were the subject of a terrifying bomb scare.
Although the incident, investigated thoroughly by Cheshire police, turned out to be a sick hoax, Maguire was understandably shaken by the incident.
The 29-year-old has told friends he will not let the ordeal alter his belief that he is capable of resurrecting his Old Trafford career but, according to , Rangnick believes a mixture of poor form and personal circumstances renders Saturday’s game the ideal opportunity to take Maguire out of the firing line.
Who replaces the skipper at the heart of United’s defence remains to be seen. Raphael Varane returned to training earlier this week and is back in contention, while Victor Lindelof could retain his place, despite his own tepid performance against Liverpool.
Phil Jones made only his second appearances of Rangnick’s interim reign in midweek, but he was substituted at half-time and it would be a gamble to select him again.
Bailly, however, appears unlikely to figure given Rangick’s criticism of the Ivory Coast international’s social media activity in his pre-match press conference.
Asked about Bailly’s post, Rangnick said: ‘If it’s true what you told me, it’s not the right sign and should not happen in a football club, no matter what league.
‘I’m not on Instagram. Listen, I’m not talking about my players in the press conference not knowing what has happened, it doesn’t make sense. I can only tell you, never in my life will I be part of Instagram.’
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