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Harry Maguire’s resurgence into a force in world football has the best feel-good story at Manchester United amid a turbulent season.
The defender, who was close to moving to West Ham in January, is now one of the first names on the teamsheet and deservedly so.
His proactive defending in November, when United won all three games without conceding a goal, saw him awarded the Premier League Player of the Month award.
While that in itself is a huge endorsement of his turnaround, another fact really puts into perspective the magnitude of this achievement.
With this award, Maguire becomes the first United defender after Nemanja Vidic to win Player of the Month.
Being alongside Nemanja Vidic in a positive stat is certainly an emphatic statement to mark a career turnaround and that is what Maguire has managed.
Vidic won the award in January 2009, which means it is nearly 15 years after another defender has managed this feat.
At the time, Vidic and Ferdinand had created one of the most dominant central defensive axes in the modern Premier League era.
The Serbian was the steel to Ferdinand’s silk but it wouldn’t do justice to his skillset to carve him into just this niche as both players were extremely malleable with a wide variety of skills.
Of course, when it comes to trophies, accolades, and even contributions to the club, Maguire is nowhere near the Serbian.
However, for a player who was clearly suffering from a crisis of confidence just about two months ago, this is a remarkable journey and proof that hard work and commitment can reopen doors at the club.
Some players at Old Trafford would do well to heed that lesson and follow the former captain’s footsteps.
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