Prime example of a player affected by poor coaching imo. He is simply not this bumbling clown he’s resembling at this moment. He was very good for Leicester, albeit never even a £60m defender, and has always looked better than Stones for England, who everyone says is better than him. Why does he always do stupid mistakes here, like miscommunications with Shaw or not marking his man at corners like against Demiral, that he never does for England? You could put that all down to him personally, and fair enough, but we’re not getting the best out of him at all.
Once Conte comes in and implements his back 3 system, I think Maguire will be perfect as the central, core defender. His lack of pace will be exploited much less and will be protected by the likes of Varane, Shaw or Bailly besides him. Conte’s a genius in organising defensive responsibility anyway, so I’d expect him to get the most out of Maguire. If even he can’t do so, then it’s time to give up on him and cut our losses. Not yet though.