Harry Maguire is playing like Manchester United’s best centre-half this season leaving his team-mates in the shadow of his brilliant displays.

That is the view of former defender Jaap Stam after United spent a combined £90million on centre backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt this summer.

The unexpected revival of Maguire is leaving one of those two signings fretting over their place in the team, with the England international being United’s most ‘consistent’ player according to Stam.

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The 31-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Leicester for £80million in 2019 and has had a rollercoaster experience ever since. His turbulent United career, which has saw him gain and lose the captaincy, has taken yet another turn.

This season he has gone from strength to strength, and he has produced three of the finest performances of his United career in recent weeks against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. At present, Maguire is averaging a Premier League high 2.64 interceptions per 90 minutes.

“I was surprised that Harry Maguire stayed at the club after the decision made around captaincy and how his form was suffering, but he believed in himself and has taken the opportunity when it came to him," Stam said when Speaking to BoyleSports about Premier League betting.

“This season he has been very solid and knows his role exactly; he is defending very well and is also the leader among the defenders. He is the most consistent player at Manchester United.

“He deserves praise for how he is as a player and a person, all the criticism must’ve been difficult for his family so it’s a great positive to see him being so important.”

But what about Yoro and De Ligt? Former Lille defender Yoro cost United £52million this summer and De Ligt was £38million from Bayern Munich. Both arrived at Old Trafford with strong reputations and expecting to come and claim their place as United’s marquee defenders.

However, Stam believes it is a choice between the two players as to who joins Maguire and Lisandro Martinez in Amorim's back three.

“Leny Yoro is a very talented player, it’s now about getting him more experience in the Premier League and Ruben Amorim is doing that.

“It's always up to the manager and he sees the players in training sessions and decides from that when they can help during matches.

“Giving Yoro more minutes in the Premier League off the bench could lead to him having a starting role, when he has that experience there might be a choice between him and Matthijs de Ligt.”