Harry Redknapp makes outlandish Harry Maguire claim after heroics against Lyon, ‘I’d get him…’

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp wants to see Manchester United defender Harry Maguire played up front after his heroics against Lyon in the Europa League.

Harry Maguire deserves a lot of credit for completely turning his career around at Manchester United. There was a time the experienced centre-back was mocked as a joke figure, a scapegoat because he made some mistakes, and eventually stripped of the captain’s armband.

Fast forward to 2025 and, although it’s been a turbulent campaign for the Red Devils, Maguire is one of the leaders in the dressing room after emerging as the hero in a jaw-dropping win over Lyon to progress to the Europa League semi-finals.

It was an extraordinary contest that United led by two goals thanks to Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot before conceding four, only to turn it around by scoring three extra time goals in the space of seven minutes.

After the nine-goal thriller at Old Trafford, United will prepare to face Athletic Bilbao for a place in the eagerly-awaited final.

Harry Redknapp wants Harry Maguire up front

Ruben Amorim’s side took total control in the first half against Lyon before appearing to throw it all away. That was until a chaotic end sent them into the semi-finals.

The United head coach deserves credit for his tactical decisions on the night.

It started perfectly – with a two-goal lead at half-time – before Lyon scored two goals in the space of six mixtures to turn on tie on its head. That forced extra time and Lyon kicked on.

At this point, with United in a state of desperation, Amorim instructed Maguire to get forward from centre-back. The England international caused havoc for Lyon’s defenders and scored the winning goal after 121 minutes of play.

Maguire’s headed finish kept United’s season alive, giving them the chance to qualify for the Champions League despite being 14^th in the Premier League.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	32	11	10	11	41	45	-4	43
13	EvertonEverton	32	8	14	10	34	38	-4	38
14	Man UtdManchester United	32	10	8	14	38	45	-7	38
15	TottenhamTottenham	32	11	4	17	60	49	11	37
16	WolvesWolves	32	10	5	17	47	61	-14	35

Although Amorim’s decision to push Maguire forward caused heads to be scratched at the time, United didn’t have any strikers to bring off the bench and Rasmus Hojlund had already been replaced in the second half of normal time. Kobbie Mainoo was playing in the false nine role and United needed aerial threat.

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was a fan of Amorim’s tactics on Thursday night and believes Maguire could be a genuine solution to United’s goalscoring problems.

“Do you know what I would do,” Redknapp told talkSPORT. “I’d stick with Harry Maguire up front.

“I would, I swear. He gets on the end of things, he’s a target. I’d work with him there for the next couple of weeks.

“They haven’t got anybody. The other boy [Hojlund] can’t score a goal.

“I’d get him on diagonals. I’d get people around him. He’d be like a Crouchy [Peter Crouch] or something.

“He’s unstoppable in the air. We’ve seen it over the years. I think Maguire could do a job short term.”

United fans are not going to start seeing Maguire start games up front anytime soon because this isn’t a solution, even short-term, like Redknapp claims. It’s an option rather than a solution, preferably kept for when United are in a sense of desperation.

Harry Maguire record for Manchester United

The winning header against Lyon was Maguire’s 15^th goal for Manchester United.

On top of that, Maguire has managed eight assists in 238 matches for the club.

That isn’t a bad record for a centre-back and he will be aiming to add to his account before the end of the season.

Maguire is back in action on Sunday when United host Wolves in the Premier League, but the main focus for the rest of the campaign is on the Europa League and securing a place in the Champions League.

United’s league season may be over, but they will want to build some sort of winning run to help them go all the way in Europe.