"I would find a new challenge" – Mikael Silvestre encourages Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United

Mikael Silvestre has encouraged Harry Maguire to make the move away from Manchester United in a bid to resurrect his career.

The England defender made only 16 Premier League appearances last season, and Silvestre admits now is the time for Maguire to seek regular game time elsewhere after falling out of favour with Erik ten Hag.

He told FourFourTwo via Freebets.com, “If I was in his position, I would find a new challenge.

“If you’re starting on the bench as a centre-back, there’s a good chance that you will stay there at the end of the game.

“It’s not a position that you normally change. It's different if you’re a winger, midfielder, or striker as there's more of an opportunity to contribute, to play, to be involved.

“He's an important player for England, and I think he has a lot to offer to another team. There is a Harry Maguire in an England shirt and there's the other one with the United shirt. You can see that there's a difference in confidence in those performances.

“So, I think for Manchester United right now, it's not been his best era of football and it hasn't been a complete success.”

David de Gea is another player who has come in for stinging criticism following a series of costly errors.

Silvestre hopes Ten Hag can still find a place for the shot-stopper in his squad for next season, but does not believe the Spaniard is the answer for United’s long-term future.

“He still has a lot to offer in the short-term,” he added.

“He's made a lot of good saves last season, but there were some crucial moments where games have been lost as a result.

“Once teams go in front against United, they drop back and make it harder to come away with anything.  A simple error in goal can be the difference there between a win or loss.

“For quite a while now, it's been difficult for the team to bounce back and David has been culpable for this. There have been some games in which he has clearly made a mess.

“But I think he still has some good leadership, and obviously goalkeeper qualities to bring to the squad.

“I think David should stay as, as long as possible to compete with whoever comes in.”