Ian Wright has made a bold prediction that could define the summer for one of Manchester United's most revitalized stars. The Arsenal legend believes Harry Maguire is now a guaranteed lock for Thomas Tuchel's final World Cup squad, which is set to be announced later this month.
Maguire has undergone a remarkable resurgence at Old Trafford, and he's not the only Red Devil eyeing a spot on the plane. Alongside the 33-year-old center-half, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, and potentially Luke Shaw are all in contention to represent England this summer. This comes after a turbulent period for the club, with Ruben Amorim's dismissal and a shift in form under Michael Carrick breathing new life into several players.
The defender's journey back to the national team has been anything but straightforward. While Mainoo and Maguire earned recalls in March, Shaw has yet to feature under Tuchel since taking over. His last appearance for the Three Lions came during the heartbreaking Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain, where he played from the quarter-finals onward after battling injury. Maguire missed that entire tournament due to injury, but his pedigree at the last two World Cups and Euro 2020 means he's hungry to return to the biggest stage next month.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Wright didn't mince words when naming Maguire as a contender for the 'comeback' Player of the Season. "He's going, isn't he? He's definitely going," Wright declared, with Gary Neville nodding in full agreement that United's No.5 would be on the plane—even if a starting spot isn't guaranteed.
This is a far cry from Tuchel's assessment back in March, when Maguire made his first appearance in 18 months. The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss was blunt: "I see other players I'd like to start for us. I see other players ahead with a different profile. I see Ezri Konsa ahead, I see Marc Guehi ahead. It's no secret. I see Trevoh Chalobah on the level of mobility was slightly ahead of him."
But with form and confidence now on his side, Maguire is proving that comebacks are as much about mentality as they are about mobility. For fans and pundits alike, the question is no longer if he'll make the squad—but just how far he can take this revival.