Man Utd star has 'risen from the dead' under Amorim after five transfer offers

Rio Ferdinand says one player in particular has thrived at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, with five clubs recently registering an interest in the seasoned star after a career resurgence

Rio Ferdinand feels Harry Maguire has practically 'risen from the dead' under Ruben Amorim. The seasoned centre-half joined Manchester United back in 2019, but his Old Trafford tenure has been far from plain sailing.

Maguire played a big part in the club's eighth-place finish under Erik ten Hag in the 2023/24 campaign. As a result, the 32-year-old received a wealth of criticism for his performances on the pitch by fans, pundits and club legends alike. Maguire was phased out under Ten Hag as United kicked off last season, deemed surplus to requirements by the Dutchman.

But when Amorim arrived as his successor in November, the Sheffield-born player was able to fight his way back into the team and show some incredible individual performances – despite United ultimately finishing in 15th in the Premier League.

As a result, Maguire now appears to be a part of Amorim's plans for the new season. While he is out of contract next summer, and with a wealth of interest coming from three Premier League clubs – as well as two teams in Italy – it seems increasingly likely that Maguire will stay put. All five transfer approaches were knocked back by United, as per The Daily Mail.

Maguire is said to be keen on signing another extension, which would see him retire at Old Trafford. While the club are said to be on the same page, no formal talks have begun as of yet.

Speaking about Maguire's career resurgence on his Rio Presents podcast alongside Joel Beya, Ferdinand was quick to praise the character and resilience he had shown in hard times.

The former Manchester United and England star said: "I ain't got that bad energy energy for players or for the club, I want them to do well. But if they don't play well, I'm gonna say what I see, and I had that discussion with Harry Maguire."

Ferdinand added: "We had the tough questions like that, what's it like you having criticism? And someone who risen from the dead almost, shown character. He was down and out, but he's come back. So to show that character and resilience, it was nice to just get beneath the skin and talk with him about it."

Maguire's decision to remain at Old Trafford last summer despite Ten Hag's decision has seemingly paid dividends, with Amorim since finding a role in the squad for the former club captain and rewarding him with a one-year contract extension in January.

On top of that, Amorim has also included Maguire in a six-man leadership group alongside Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Tom Heaton, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui, as he looks to utilise the passing down of experience of senior players to younger members of the squad.

Speaking about the cohort, Amorim said: "We have a leadership group now. It's not just Bruno. It's not just Harry. It's six guys. They are responsible for the group. There are some things that in the last year I had to deal with and I said to them this season, you deal with that.

"Small issues are with you guys. You're responsible. All these small changes, but I think it's helping the group. We have Bruno, we have Harry, Licha [Martinez], Diogo, Tom and Nous."

Maguire has also excelled during United's pre-season tour of America, starting in the side's 4-1 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series.

It will be interesting to see if he starts when United face Fiorentina at Old Trafford come Saturday. Their Premier League opener follows on Sunday, August 17 against Arsenal, where Maguire could face former Red Devils target Viktor Gyokeres, who Amorim knows all about from their time together at Sporting CP.