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This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Former Manchester United ace Gary Pallister has revealed he can see Harry Maguire becoming the captain of the club in the future.

What did he say?

Maguire arrived at Old Trafford for £80m, and helped the side to a resounding 4-0 victory over rivals Chelsea in his Premier League debut for the club.

Now, Pallister has insisted the 26-year-old's leadership qualities mark him out as a future Red Devils captain.

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When asked whether he thinks Maguire could lead the team out one day, Pallister said: "Yeah I do. He’s not afraid to put his head in where it hurts, he wins his tackles, he’s a big lad, a big unit and he has that presence that you need to be a captain and he leads by example. I’m not 100% sure if he’d be a screaming and shouting captain, but you can have all different types of captains.

"You can have a Tony Adams or a John Terry who shout and scream, or you can have a Cantona who doesn’t shout and scream but just leads by example on the pitch. I don’t know which category he falls into, but he looks a figure of authority within the side and I could definitely see him becoming United captain in the future."

A much-needed leader

Since the departures of both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, United have lacked a dominant centre-half to lead the team from the back. In Maguire, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side possess an individual who appears to inspire those around him as well as producing imperious displays himself.

The Manchester side's record of 54 goals conceded in the Premier League last season was a reminder of the amount of work needed to be done defensively. Having someone like Maguire, who can lead by example with the way he plays on the pitch, automatically brings a more reassuring presence to United's back-line.

Looking around the United squad, the list of viable captaincy candidates is rather alarmingly thin. It could well be that their new summer signing is the man to take on the role even sooner than Pallister expects.

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