Harry Maguire reveals he is close to England team-mate John Stones despite club rivalry
Harry Maguire is looking forward to a long-awaited reunion with England pal John Stones having helped each other through difficult times over the past year.
Maguire and Stones, who first became friends in Sheffield junior football, were an important part of England’s World Cup semi-final run but haven’t played together since beating Montenegro 7-0 in November 2019.
Stones subsequently lost his place in Manchester City’s team before bouncing back well this season while Maguire was criticised for his form when he was sent off against Denmark in October.
Harry Maguire and John Stones are preparing to line up together once again for England
However, with both centre-halves impressive in recent weeks, Gareth Southgate is expected to resume their partnership in the centre of defence against Albania this afternoon.
‘I am close to John. He’s a good friend and we always speak to each other away from football,’ revealed Maguire.
‘We spoke during tough times and we speak when it’s going well. We grew up not far from each other and played against each other at under-16s level. The rivalry then continued when I was at Sheffield United and he played for Barnsley.
‘When you play centre-back, you are going to have ups and downs. Nobody will go through a career without being at fault for goals.
‘The support I got from Gareth Southgate and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave me great confidence. They showed trust by continuing to pick me and it’s important because football can be tough at times.
‘When you are conceding goals, it’s not nice especially at Manchester United when you are under scrutiny. You have to keep believing in yourself and John has done that as well. It’s great to have him back in the England set up. He’s been playing well, week-in, week-out.’
Maguire revealed that he keeps in contact with fellow Yorkshireman Stones away from football
Stones has been recalled to the England squad after some excellent form for Manchester City
Maguire also brushed aside concerns of burnout having already played 48 games this season
Maguire has already played 48 matches this season and the figure could top 70 if Manchester United progress in their cup competitions and England do well at the European Championship this summer.
However the 28-year-old United skipper doesn’t think the workload is getting too much.
‘Burn-out is not something I have thought about. I feel like I am more than capable with coping with the remainder of the season,’ he said. ‘Mentally and physically I am in a good place.
‘There is a lot of football, I don’t think we’ve had a free week at United to prepare for a game, so it’s a case of feet up, rest, recover and get ready to go again.
‘I played a little three v three in training on Friday and it was my first small-sided game for a long time. I haven’t been doing a lot of that short, sharp work.’
