Now is the time to study Harry Maguire’s remarkable stats

Having such a dominant force in the air is extremely useful for any side but there is another, perhaps under-appreciated, facet to the central defender’s game and one that helped convince Solskjaer to bring him to Old Trafford.

Maguire is extremely adept at bringing the ball forward and the stats are pretty remarkable in this respect. He sits in fourth spot in the overall list for the Premier League for this skill, as noted by FBRef.com, and the players ahead of him are attacking dribblers who run at opposing defenders. Jack Grealish, Wilfried Zaha and Adama Traore are the only men who have covered more ground in possession than our captain.

“It’s something that, when I signed for this club, was what the gaffer reiterated,” he said. “He wanted to start attacks from the back and be in control of games. He wanted to build up from possession and I felt my game was suited to help him do that.

“It was nice to see a lot of stats over this lockdown. I have seen so many flung about as there’s not been much else for people to do, apart from find out stats! But, no, it’s been nice to see them although, for me personally, it’s business now. We have the remaining games and then I’ll evaluate the season after these eight matches. It’s been great and a pleasing start for me, particularly after getting the captain’s armband at such an iconic club. We will push on from there – there is still lots of improvement [to be made].”