Former Watford striker Troy Deeney has claimed that Harry Maguire's agent rang him after he criticised the Manchester United captain, suggesting that his comments were unfair.
The 34-year-old, who is currently at Birmingham City, made the claim while appearing on a podcast with former Watford teammate Ben Foster. The incident allegedly happened in 2020, with Deeney having questioned Maguire's form for the Reds during a radio interview a few years ago.
Maguire has struggled for minutes under Erik ten Hag so far this season, with the England international making just 15 appearances in all competitions. The United centre-back has started on just four occasions in the Premier League.
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Speaking on Foster's podcast, Deeney said: "I was at Watford when his agent called me. I was speaking about the leadership, about Harry Maguire, about David de Gea - about all the senior guys, why is it always Paul Pogba because it was always him getting battered early doors.
"That's all I said. I get to training and my phone is ringing from a number I don't know. The same number called two or three times so I thought, 'There must be a problem here'.
"I picked it up. It's Harry Maguire's agent, 'You can't do this, you can't do that. You wouldn't say it to Harry's face'. And I was like, 'Hold on, one second, let's rewind. I have said this? I didn't say that. I would say it to Harry's face because I've got no problem'."
Deeney then claimed that he called the United captain to ask if he was annoyed at his comments, suggesting that Maguire was unaware that his agent had contacted the player.
"I called him and he has no clue what's going on," he added. "I phoned the agent back saying, 'Listen, mate, please don't phone me giving it the big one because I'm not that guy and you're going to have a problem you don't want'.
"It made me realise that my voice was powerful and penetrating. I just said what about the leadership and it made this super agent come out of his little nest and say, 'Hold up, Troy, we're taking a battering here'."
He continued: "To be fair to Harry, he said to me, 'I don't know what all that's about'. I said, 'It's not a problem, but the way he phoned and the aggression he was having'. A younger me would have taken that much more personally. This is what I said - I'll tell you to your face, I've got no problem."
Maguire could be set to start for United in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez continuing as the first-choice pairing in the Premier League.
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