Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is out of contract at the end of this season but he’s been in good form this term and could be in line for a new deal.

Harry Maguire has opened up on the lessons he has learnt from studying Rio Ferdinand’s performances during his time at Manchester United. Maguire has had a rollercoaster career since arriving at Old Trafford in 2019. Shortly after joining, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named Maguire captain.

The centre-back held the role until 2023, but after several disappointing performances as skipper, the England international was stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag. Bruno Fernandes was named captain and Maguire’s time at the club looked to be over. However, without the pressure of the armband, the defender has produced more consistent performances.

Maguire has made 264 appearances for the Reds and has been a key player in the revival under Michael Carrick. Maguire was asked by MUTV whether any former players inspired his game. “Yeah, Rio had… he was excellent on the ball,” he said.

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“But he was also a top-class defender as well and really calm and I think that’s a big thing I learnt from him as well. Playing the big situations really calmly. He had that really, really well.” When asked how important ball-playing is for centre-backs, Maguire added: “It’s definitely a big part of the game now.

“That’s why I’ve always said that Rio could play in any era. Nowadays, in this era, actually this season a little bit less, as it has been over the last five or six years, about being comfortable on the ball as defenders and building up from the back – every attack starts from a defender. But it does go round in cycles and in ten years’ time it might change.”

Maguire is out of contract at the end of this season. There is a desire to keep the centre-back at Old Trafford but United hope to negotiate a wage reduction.

Speaking about Maguire’s form and his future ahead of the victory over Crystal Palace earlier this month, Carrick said: “Experience is massive; it’s hard to put a price on how valuable that can be. Whether that’s individuals, whether that’s experience as a whole group, but Harry’s gained an awful lot of experience in different ways through this club, and Casemiro leaving is another one with experience and it’s something we’ve got to obviously understand and what that means.”