Solskjaer impressed by Maguire's impact at Manchester United on and off the field
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been impressed by Harry Maguire during the centre-back's first two weeks as a Manchester United player.
Published : Aug 16, 2019 18:03 IST
Harry Maguire has already made a big impact at Manchester United on and off the field, according to boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United agreed a reported GBP 80million deal with Leicester City earlier this month to make Maguire the most expensive centre-back of all time. The England international impressed on his debut last weekend as he helped his side keep a clean sheet in its 4-0 win against Chelsea.
Speaking ahead of Monday's trip to Wolves, Solskjaer said he has been equally as impressed with Maguire's influence on the training ground during his first couple of weeks at the club. "He’s very level-headed and is just as composed off the pitch as on it," Solskjaer said at Friday's news conference.
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"He is experienced and a big presence around the place, always smiling, a personality you like to have around and a cool head at the back is important. Level-headed defenders who are not emotionally affected are great for a manager and the team. He’s been very good to have around."
United has momentum on its side ahead of its meeting with Wolves after winning all six pre-season matches, including a penalty shoot-out victory against AC Milan, which it followed up with three points against Chelsea.
'Good shift'
Solskjaer pointed to his side's improved fitness levels as a key factor in its turnaround in form, having ended last season with one win in its final seven Premier League matches. "Chelsea outran us quite a lot in April, now we’ve outran them," he said.
"That’s a good shift for us but it’s not just about fitness. Fitness is important but we also have quality. We’ve had a good pre-season, our fitness is better and we’ve got a young team that will give us energy. Towards the end of last season we were mentally tired but we are now mentally fresh.
"It’s a big period still for us, more or less pre-season. We’ve got a couple more weeks after this [when] we can put loads of work on the training ground."
The trip to Molineux provides United with an opportunity to exact some revenge following away defeats to Wolves in the FA Cup and Premier League in the final two months of last season. "I feel like I’m going home because we've been there so often lately," Solskjaer joked. "They were tough games and Wolves are a hard team to break down as they defend deep and don’t give you a lot of spaces.
"They can counter-attack and their set-pieces are always dangerous. We’ve been looking at the games last season to see if there’s anything different to do this time, but our form, our attitude and the mood after the Chelsea win is great so we go into the game confident."