HARRY MAGUIRE HAS insisted he is concentrating on helping England amid speculation that he is being lined up by both Manchester clubs for a summer move.
There have been suggestions that Pep Guardiola has designs on adding Maguire to his England contingent at the Etihad Stadium.
But the 27-year-old, who is also being linked to Manchester United for a second consecutive close season, insists such talk is not a distraction when he dons national-team colours.
“When I’m away with England I don’t think about anything to do with club football,” Maguire said.
“As soon as I wear this badge it’s really important for myself to focus on England and nothing else.
At the moment, nothing’s going through my head in terms of club football. I’m fully focused on the games coming up.”
And Maguire believes the serial winners from Manchester City in England’s squad point the way to glory in the Nations League Finals.
Gareth Southgate’s side take on the Netherlands in their semi-final when the inaugural edition of UEFA’s latest international tournament concludes in Portugal next week.
Maguire and his team-mates have been operating with reduced numbers as they prepare at England’s St George’s Park base, with seven of their colleagues set to be involved in Saturday’s Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool.
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley will join the group after Wednesday’s Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku, although Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker John Stones and Fabian Delph are all present and correct after sweeping the board domestically with Manchester City.
And Leicester City defender Maguire feels having players who have recently tasted such success at club level can only benefit England as the 1966 World Cup winners go in search of a rare piece of silverware.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a trophy. You want to be winners,” he added.
We’ve got a lot of winners in our team. You’ve seen with the Man City boys who’ve just turned up and won three trophies this year.
“We’ve got a lot of winning mentality in our team and hopefully we can transfer it to international football now.”
When England face the Netherlands in Guimaraes, their opponents will be able to call upon arguably the two finest centre-backs in Europe right now.
Maguire is full of admiration for both Liverpool’s PFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk and Ajax sensation Matthijs de Ligt.
They’ve both had excellent years,” he added. “De Ligt has been a 19-year-old captain at Ajax and managed to get through to the Champions League semi-finals. He’s a had a great year.
“And you’ve seen Van Dijk has been the standout performer in the Premier League. Liverpool have kept the most clean sheets.
“He’s a top, top player and I’m sure all the defenders who are watching him will be learning from him.”
Gavan Casey is joined by Murray Kinsella and Sean Farrell for a review of the 2018/19 season, and cast an eye forward to next year and the Rugby World Cup in Japan.:
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