Maguire explains how he changed perceptions

In January 2017, Manchester United faced Hull City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.

For Harry Maguire, it was a chance to show what he was all about and parade his talents on the big stage.

Yes, he'd played at the Theatre of Dreams before, he was part of the Sheffield United side that took on Paul McGuinness's Reds in the 2011 FA Youth Cup final second leg, but this opportunity came against the likes of Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford in the last four of a major competition.

The history books show a 2-0 win for the Reds, with Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini on the scoresheet, as the home side went on to book a place in the final, and lift the trophy, courtesy of a 3-2 triumph over Southampton at Wembley.

Yet anybody at the game that night could not fail to have been impressed by Hull's towering central defender, who showed such grace and composure in effortlessly moving forward with the ball.

It was an accomplished display by Maguire and, when we spoke to him for the latest edition of Inside United magazine, it became clear that he viewed such a high-profile occasion as the perfect platform.

"“It’s always a very hard place to go, especially as the away team because the atmosphere is electric and it was somewhere where I wanted to go and show myself on the biggest stage,”" he admitted.

When it was suggested it was surprising to see him look so confident in possession, he replied: "“That’s the thing when you play in League One and you’re a big centre-half who is 6ft 4ins. Everyone thinks he heads it and he kicks it and you don’t tend to get as much interest as what happens when you go onto the big stage."

”You can show yourself off, create pictures and play great balls because everyone thinks you just head it and kick it as a big centre-back. But it’s something I’ve always been able to do. I’ve been comfortable on the ball since I was a young boy, as it helped me playing in midfield for such a long time and now I want to start proving that for Manchester United."“"

Maguire confirmed he started out as a midfielder in his early days with local side Brunsmeer Athletic and at Sheffield United. It has helped him develop into one of the leading ball-playing central defenders in the Premier League.

“I played centre-mid really until I was about 15, so I grew up in that position,” he said.

“When I was 15 or 16, scholarship age, I played a few games at centre-back and some in midfield. After that, I really cemented my place at centre-back when I shot up and grew. When I was about 15 or 16, I always used to be average-to-tall, not really tall, but I shot up and ended up finding myself at centre-back and felt really comfortable playing in defence and just progressed from there.

“It’s probably a natural thing [moving into the back] when you see that [growth] but my growing up in midfield helped me in my career like with how to deal with the ball in situations and in terms of stepping out from the back and seeing pictures. It helped me in terms of that and is something I am really pleased that I did when I was younger.”