Newcastle United and Aston Villa urged to consider move for Manchester United defender

Newcastle United have been urged to make a move for Manchester United and England centre-back Harry Maguire.

The 29-year-old defender has struggled for game-time with the 13-time Premier League champions after manager Erik ten Hag chose to a pair former Real Madrid star Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at the heart of his back-four on a regular basis during the first half of the season.

Maguire has made just three starts in the Premier League as he appeared in defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford during the first week of the season before returning to the starting eleven for a 1-0 home win against West Ham United in late October.

His only other starts have come in the Carabao Cup and Europa League and that has led to speculation his three-year stay at Old Trafford could come to an end in the near future. Former Newcastle defender Stuart Pearce believes his old club and Premier League rivals West Ham United and Aston Villa should consider a move for the defender.

He told talkSPORT: “If I was West Ham, if I was Newcastle, if I was Aston Villa, I’d be all over trying to get Harry Maguire out of there. I’d be asking the question whether he’s available. He’d be a brilliant addition to a football club. He’s the right age, the right stature, right experience. He might just need another challenge now as he’s not getting regular football.”

Pearce’s comments were backed up by former Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino, who believes the England defender will be having serious thoughts about his Old Trafford future after Luke Shaw was selected at centre-back in wins against Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He said: “If you were Maguire sitting there as a centre-back and he’s got Luke Shaw in front of him, he will be thinking ‘I’ve got to leave Old Trafford’. He might say it’s a tactical decision for whatever reason. Diego Costa was up front for Wolves. You’d like to think Harry Maguire would like to battle with Costa. They’ve won the game so it’s not been an issue. For Harry Maguire, he will only be thinking how he’s so far down the pecking order.”