Former Man Utd star Wes Brown responds to Harry Maguire criticism

The Man Utd captain managed to silence a few of his critics on Sunday against Leeds with a goal from a set-piece.

Harry Maguire is both rightly criticised but also wrongly never praised, according to a former Manchester United defender.

The England international has faced calls to be stripped of the captain's armband after a string of below-par performances, though opened the scored in a thrilling 4-2 win over Leeds.

Maguire has also been forced to deny reports of a rift with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo over his leadership, as did United interim boss Ralf Rangnick in a later press conference.

Wes Brown has now moved to defend Maguire, who he believes can handle the pressure of being United captain.

Commenting on the 28-year-old, Brown, speaking on behalf of 888sport said: "Harry knows that he gets judged against every other defender who has played for Manchester United during the good times.

"He’s a fantastic professional, and one of the senior members who understands the Premier League but when he makes a mistake it is highlighted, it’s as simple as that.

"He is at one of the biggest clubs in the world and he is going to get criticism, especially because of where the club is at right now.

"Harry can handle that. What is weird is that he never gets praise.

"The problem is, the stats are the stats and it is what it is. United let in goals. We don’t keep loads of clean sheets.

"That doesn’t necessarily mean he is a bad defender because the team as a whole has to step up. But he’s the captain and any captain is held to a higher standard."

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