Who should be Man United captain? Candidates assessed after Erik ten Hag strips Harry Maguire of armband

Harry Maguire announced on July 16 that he had been stripped of the Manchester United captaincy.

In a lengthy social media post, the England international said he was "extremely disappointed" with manager Erik ten Hag's decision but vowed to give his all for his successor.

Removing the armband from Maguire did not come as a major shock to most observers. Maguire found himself reduced to a back-up role in 2022/23, with Bruno Fernandes regularly chosen as team captain for matches even though Maguire retained the official club role.

The question now is over who will succeed Maguire in the permanent position. While Fernandes will likely be among the leading candidates, there are others with huge experience the Dutch manager could choose.

MORE: Will Harry Maguire leave Man United after losing captaincy?

When did Harry Maguire become Man United captain?

Maguire had held the role as captain since his debut season at Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made the call to give the defender — his record £80 million signing from Leicester City — the armband in January 2020. He replaced Ashley Young, who moved to Inter Milan in that same transfer window.

Maguire's role as captain was questioned by many in 2021/22, with the England international suffering a dreadful spell of form and seeming overawed by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad, with the legendary striker often selected as captain when Maguire was unavailable.

Ten Hag, however, decided to stick by Maguire ahead of his decision to jettison Ronaldo. In the summer, he was asked at a press conference whether he'd considered taking the armband away from the defender. 

"No," said Ten Hag. "I always see the captaincy as an issue that I dictate.

"Team building, for me, is an important point, and I always talk about a group of leaders. The captain is a really important one, and I'm happy with him.

"He's proved it in the past, but he has also to prove it in the present, and in the future.

"He's played 60 times for England. Harry is really impressive, and I expect a lot from him."

However, Maguire only played 16 times in the Premier League in 2022/23, with Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw often preferred to the 30-year-old even when injuries saw first-choice centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane sidelined. Bruno Fernandes was regularly made team captain for matches, although his suitability for that role was questioned after United's 7-0 obliteration at the hands of Liverpool in March.

MORE: Explaining Marcus Rashford's trademark goal celebration for Man United

Why was Bruno Fernandes captain against Liverpool?

Fernandes was captain for the majority of United matches in 2022/23. The Portuguese playmaker is the club's vice captain and usually wore the armband in Maguire's absence, even though the centre-back remained the official club captain.

Ten Hag likes "a group of leaders", as he's said, but Fernandes rarely misses a game and cannot be faulted for his passion for the badge. After the Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United, Maguire and Fernandes lifted the trophy together.

But Fernandes' passion spilled over into petulance when things started to unravel against Liverpool.

He could be seen gesticulating wildly towards his teammates and referee Andy Madley, he pushed the assistant referee, and at one stage went down far too easily after minimal contact from Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate, holding his face when he'd been struck in the chest.

At another point it appeared that Fernandes asked Ten Hag to be subbed off, as the manager took off Marcus Rashford, although this has since revealed not to be the case, with the player instead asking which position to now play in.

🗣️ "We HAVE to come again! This is what Manchester United is about"

Bruno Fernandes speaks after Man United's 7-0 defeat to Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/JAJ8YKZqAr

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 5, 2023

Fernandes' antics at Anfield irritated former United defender Gary Neville, who was commentating on the game with Sky Sports. He said: "I think some of his behaviour in the second half has been a disgrace.

"The second half has been an absolute disgrace, a shambles. They have not been epitomised more than Bruno Fernandes, who has been embarrassing — a shambles — in this game."

Later on his podcast, Neville added: "I'll start with the captain because you are the captain of the football club. Bruno Fernandes can wind you up sometimes because of the way he is, but that was appalling in the second half."

Who should be Man United captain?

The Sporting News takes a look at who would be best suited to the captaincy role now that Ten Hag has decided to make a permanent change. Here are the top options ranked worst to best...

4. Marcus Rashford 

The captaincy might affect his form, which has been superb since the start of last season, so Ten Hag may be reluctant to make a change. But Rashford is mature off the pitch, he leads by example and he's got the temperament required to take on the role of skipper. He's United born and bred.

3. Bruno Fernandes 

Say what you want about his antics, they are not everyone's cup of tea, but Fernandes is a team player and usually steps up when it counts. He refused to let Solskjaer take the brunt of fans' ire during the Norwegian's final days in the job, and he champions others' success. He also fronted up to the TV cameras after the Liverpool defeat, which — despite his behaviour on the pitch — was commendable. He's largely been a good captain when he's stood in.

2. Casemiro

The impact the Brazilian has had on his teammates since arriving at United has been immeasurable. He's turned them back into a trophy-winning side, he takes games by the scruff of the neck and was recently described by Paul Scholes as "the closest thing to Roy Keane United will get". That is captaincy material.

1. Raphael Varane 

Like his former Real Madrid colleague Casemiro, Varane has brought a winning spirit and ruthless mentality to United that was previously lacking. He can often be seen cajoling teammates at key points in games and insisted that the players went over to applaud the United fans at Anfield after the Liverpool shellacking. For many, Varane would be the ideal choice as the club's next permanent captain.

Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.

USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.

India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).