Diogo Dalot delivers clear verdict on Harry Maguire’s future after win vs. Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Manchester United star Diogo Dalot has made it clear where he and his teammates lie on the future of Harry Maguire as he approaches free agency.

Super Harry

Maguire produced another top performance over the weekend, helping United to a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

Standing in alongside teenager Leny Yoro with Lisandro Martinez missing, Maguire delivered a dominant display. He won every single duel, whether on the ground or in the air, and was equally impressive in possession, playing a key role in United’s distribution from defence.

When he came off in the closing stages of the contest, the England international was afforded a standing ovation by the home crowd. There were fears that he had picked up an injury but Michael Carrick suggested that the issue may not be too serious.

Maguire is currently in the final three months of his United contract and unless he can strike an agreement with the club over fresh terms, he is set to walk away for nothing at the end of the season.

Carrick has repeatedly spoken glowingly of Maguire, while former player Steve Bruce also urged United to keep him.

Now, Dalot has joined growing calls to retain Maguire. He spoke to journalists after the final whistle vs. Palace and revealed that if it were up to him, Maguire would stay.

Dalot outlines Maguire stance

Dalot said about Maguire, “I think he’s been showing during his career how strong he is mentally and physically and when he is in a good state of mind, and when he’s good physically with a good run of games I think is one of the best centre-backs in the league.”

“So I’m pretty sure that if he shows a good level, if it helps the team, it will be no problem for the club to keep him.”

“It’s not my decision; ultimately, it will be between them. But we’re very happy with him.”

Dalot also opened up on Bruno Fernandes, saying that the Portuguese playmaker remains slightly underrated despite his frequent heroics.

Asked if Fernandes continues to be taken for granted, “A little bit, I think.”

“When you’re so consistent, when you play for many years at a very high level, sometimes when you’re not there for one game people start doubting and people start always thinking that you should do that all the time.”

“But that’s the most difficult thing in football, for you to be consistent during the whole season, whether you’re going to have ups and downs, but he’s always a player and person who shows up all the time and he never hides, so I think that’s what this club needs.”

On Fernandes’ leadership lifting the side during tough moments, Dalot remarked, “It’s important because it keeps you alive during the game at every moment. He’s a player who can read the game really well and can read pretty much all the positions on the pitch. So he always likes to guide you on that.”

“If he has something that he believes that he can help you with, he will say it no problem.”

United currently lie in third place and Champions League is firmly within sight heading into the business end of the season.

Dalot called on his teammate to never take being in Europe for granted again.

“I think seasons like this are good for you to know that when you’re playing Europa League and especially Champions League, those are the best years, those are the best seasons. This year we play, I don’t know, maximum 40 games because we came out of the cups even in the early stage, so this is nowhere near what the club should be and the competitions that we should play in.”

“So when we are there, when we get the main goal that I really believe that we’re going to do next season, if we’re playing Champions League, we cannot take for granted. We need to put the club back in there.”

He insisted that the ultimate goal remains to seal a return to the Champions League and there is confidence that this objective will be achieved.

“That’s the goal. We are very conscious that for us to be able to do that, we have to do games like today, where you don’t control for 90 minutes, where sometimes you don’t play like you should, but you find ways to win.”

“And I think that’s what defines sometimes those who stay at the top of the table and those who start dropping points and dropping places. We’ve been there, so I think this season, if we want to get to the end of the season and have the goal that we want, we need games like this.”

United return to action on Wednesday when they go away to Newcastle.

Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

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