Ruben Amorim believes Harry Maguire has returned to leadership at Manchester United after a turbulent few years at Old Trafford.
Maguire completed his move to the Red Devils in 2019 and was appointed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just five months after his £80 million transfer from Leicester City.
But the England international was stripped of his role by Solskjaer's successor Erik ten Hag in July 2023, leading to speculation he would leave the club soon afterwards.
Maguire rejected the chance to join West Ham after United accepted a bid for the defender, eventually forcing his way back into the team amid a mid-season injury crisis.
Despite Ten Hag signing Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro, Maguire has remained a constant and has flourished under Amorim since the Dutchman's departure.
Since Amorim's appointment in November, Maguire has played seven of United's last eight Premier League games, with the back three playing a more central role.
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Maguire put in an impressive display during United's third round victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup last Sunday, despite giving away an unfortunate penalty against Kai Havertz.
He made a team-high 11 clearances, with defensive partner Martinez (29) the only player to make more accurate passes for the Red Devils than Maguire (22).
“I feel like he's a leader again,” Amorim said. “He feels more like an important player in the team. He believes in himself a lot and is doing great.
“We have to praise Harry more than me. He was sick before the last match and ended up dead. That's what I want from every player.”
Solskjaer and Ten Hag often alternated Maguire's position in their backline, with the 31-year-old playing on both the left and right of the defense.
However, Amorim believes the central role Maguire has taken on since his arrival suits him perfectly.
“He is excellent with the ball in that position,” he said.
“You can also see that in this competition it is very important to be good at set pieces and when we defend low, we get a lot of crosses.
“Arsenal did a lot of crosses with Harry and we controlled that area.”
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