Giorgio Chiellini feels sorry for Harry Maguire as the Italian defender believes much is expected from the England international.
Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini has stated that much is required from Manchester United defender Harry Maguire due to his price tag.
The England international has been axed from the starting XI for Manchester United as Erik Ten Hag prefers the pairing of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
However, despite been dropped to the bench at the club side Maguire has received a call up from Gareth Southgate to represent the Three Lions.
Veteran defender Chiellini, who retired from international football after this summer’s Finalissima against Argentina, has come to Maguire’s defence.
“I am sad for Maguire’s situation because he is a good player,’ Chiellini told The media.
“They require too much of him. Just because they paid £80million for him, he has to be the best in the world every match? It’s not right.
“The value of the market is dependent on many aspects you can’t control. It’s not your fault.
“Him and [John] Stones are a good duo. OK, Maguire maybe is not Rio Ferdinand but he’s good enough.
“With this situation it’s not helping [England] to do the best. If you want to win the World Cup, it’s impossible to do it with some problems in the key players, and for sure Maguire is one of the key players in the team.”
Maguire is likely to be involved when England play Italy in the UEFA Nations League in Milan’s San Siro on Friday night.
The Three Lions conclude their Nations League group at home to Germany on Monday night and realistically need to win both matches to avoid relegation to League B of the competition.
