Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has named Jonny Evans as the most underrated player he has ever lined up with during his career.<\/p>\n
Maguire discusses United defenders<\/p>\n
In a club media interview<\/a>, Maguire shared his thoughts on United\u2019s defensive lineage, citing legends from the club\u2019s history and more recent stalwarts.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He particularly discussed Steve Bruce, Rio Ferdinand, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane and Evans, explaining what he picked up from each one of them.<\/p>\n Maguire revealed that Bruce \u2013 who won seven major trophies with United, including three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup, and the European Cup Winners\u2019 Cup \u2013 was crucial in his decision to join Hull City in July 2014 from Sheffield United.<\/p>\n According to Maguire<\/a>, he was fully aware of the success Bruce enjoyed as a player at Old Trafford and wanted to learn from him. He admitted that Bruce was pivotal in reshaping his mindset, shifting his focus from ball-playing to the core principles of defending.<\/p>\n On Ferdinand, Maguire<\/a> hailed the six-time Premier League winner as a player ahead of his time. He explained that Ferdinand\u2019s exceptional quality on the ball would have made him a standout in any era of the game.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Maguire lauded Varane\u2019s leadership abilities, branding the Frenchman as \u201carguably one of the best defenders in the last 20 years.\u201d Maguire told United media that Varane\u2019s \u201cborn winner\u201d mentality and wealth of elite experience made him a vital repository of knowledge.<\/p>\n Reflecting on his central-defensive pairing, Maguire pointed out that he and Lindelof consistently achieved strong results, with their statistics at times placing them among Europe\u2019s elite. Maguire was quick to point out that Lindelof may not have received the credit he deserved for his contributions to the club, despite being an \u201cexcellent player.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, on Evans, Maguire named the current United coach as the most underrated player he\u2019s shared the pitch with.<\/p>\n Maguire\u2019s Evans claim<\/p>\n Maguire said about Evans, \u201cHe\u2019s a great guy. Really calm, a real good player. When I speak about underrated players, I\u2019d say Jonny, for me, was probably the most underrated player I\u2019ve ever played with. If I was a young boy, or I was teaching someone to watch defending and watch body positioning and watch movement, I\u2019d say: \u2018Watch Jonny Evans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cHe was that good at his body positioning and the way that he\u2019s so active in every part of the game. There are a lot more things to defending than making last-ditch tackles and making big challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey get the plaudits from the fans, but your body positioning, your footwork, the understanding of where you need to be\u2026 and the main thing as a defender, I always say, is being active in every part of the game, and Jonny was the best I\u2019ve played with in terms of that.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cSo he was an excellent player, and obviously coming towards the end when he came back to us at the club. But you could still see his quality. I saw a lot more of his quality obviously when he was at Leicester in his prime. But he was amazing to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n Maguire and his teammates are next in action on Sunday when they face league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images<\/p>\n