One man who may well not be getting much joy from Manchester United's recent resurgence under Erik ten Hag is club captain Harry Maguire, with the England international having largely been twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines in recent months.

Despite having had a 'very good World Cup', according to pundit Graeme Souness in his Daily Mail column, the 29-year-old has remained resigned to a watching brief throughout the campaign at club level, with just four starts in the current Premier League campaign.

Having been axed from the starting XI following the horror show at Brentford in August, the former Leicester City man has largely been unable to regain his place in the team since then, having even seen usual left-back Luke Shaw given the nod at centre-back on occasion.

With Maguire now restricted to late cameos off the bench, it does appear to be becoming a matter of when and not if the £80m man will be moved on from Old Trafford, with Jamie Carragher stating in September that it is 'too late' for the struggling skipper to save his United career.

Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst has since revealed earlier this week that the £190k-per-week dud could well be one of the first-team assets to be shown the door this summer, with Ten Hag seeking to continue his revamp of the squad.

However, rather than splashing the cash on a replacement for the 53-cap brute - with a new striker and midfielder also set to be prioritised - the former Ajax boss could seemingly consider turning to the youth ranks to find a suitable option as Maguire's long-term successor.

A perfect candidate already appears to have revealed itself in the form of 19-year-old starlet Rhys Bennett, with the teenager having proven his talents in recent times after leading the club's U18 side to FA Youth Cup glory last term.

The commanding centre-back had started the final four games in the competition, while notably getting the Red Devils off to the perfect start in the showpiece after scoring in front of a packed crowd at the Theatre of Dreams.

That glorious winning run showcased the youngster to be a "good character and natural leader" in the side, according to Luckhurst, with the promising gem having since gone on to make an impression on Ten Hag after featuring in a handful of matchday squads this season.

Although a competitive first-team debut has yet to emerge, Bennett was involved off the bench in the mid-season friendly defeat to Real Betis in December, with experienced team-mate Tom Heaton lauding him as "excellent" as a result of his confident display.

The aim must now be for Bennett to truly force his way into the first-team reckoning sooner rather than later, with his chance of staking a claim only likely to be enhanced by Maguire's seemingly inevitable summer exit.