TalkSport pundit Carlton Palmer has claimed that he would quit Manchester United if he was Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw was starting ahead of him at centre-back.

What's the latest on Harry Maguire and Manchester United?

It's not been a particularly easy season for the 30-year-old defender, who has fallen down the pecking order behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez under Erik ten Hag.

Indeed, Maguire has started just five Premier League games all season. What's more, 27-year-old teammate Shaw has been trusted more as a centre-back of late. Indeed, the full-back has started four of the last 11 league games in that position for the Red Devils.

Maguire was at least trusted to come back in and start for England against Italy, but that ended badly for him as fans took to Twitter to slam his display – while Shaw also got a red card in what was a poor evening for the Man Utd duo.

Regardless of that, while speaking on TalkSport, Palmer claimed that the 30-year-old should threaten to quit if Ten Hag won't play him at centre-back.

The pundit said: "I mean, it would upset me, to be honest with you. Do you know, I'm not playing well, Maguire, but if he's [Shaw] being picked ahead of me at centre-back, I would have gone and knocked on the door and I'd have been away, full stop.

"I'm not bothered about my contract. If you're picking Luke Shaw at centre-back ahead of me, right, I'm gone."

Soccer Football - Pre Season Friendly - Manchester United v Liverpool - Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand - July 12, 2022 Manchester United's Luke Shaw before the match REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Is Shaw a better centre-back option for Man Utd than Maguire?

To be fair to Ten Hag, Shaw hasn't lost any of those games he's started at centre-back in the league – which includes a derby win over Manchester City.

Maguire, on the other hand, started the first two games of the season in that position and lost on both occasions, so it's easy to see why his manager lost faith early on.

According to reports, the 30-year-old currently earns about £190,000 per week. On top of that, his deal runs until the summer of 2025. With that in mind, it would be a bold move for him to tear up his contract and leave as Palmer suggested.

Even so, it's not hard to see why Maguire might be unhappy with his current role in the team even if he's not gone public with any issues.