Harry Maguire has been named Manchester United’s new captain, replacing Ashley Young. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed the news in an interview with Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves on Friday morning. Young, who is set to join Inter Milan, had been captain since replacing Antonio Valencia in the summer.
Young is close to ending an eight-and-a-half-year association with United after Inter agreed a €1.5million (£1.3million) fee, subject to personal terms being agreed.
Solskjaer claimed United were not willing to match a two-year contract on the table for the 34-year-old at San Siro and also cited the emergence of youngsters such as Brandon Williams as a reason for both parties to go their separate ways.
“To be fair, I think for Ashley, he’s 35 in the summer and if he gets a two-year contract somewhere it’s up to hm to take that,” Solskjaer said.
“We weren’t ready to offer that. He’s been a good servant for the club, he’s been captain and won trophies.
“But we’ve got players coming through. When Ashley’s mindset and head was on ‘I want to try this’, then why not do it now?”
Since joining from Aston Villa in 2011, Young has made 261 appearances for United – scoring 19 goals and winning four major honours, including the 2012-13 Premier League
