Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says deposed captain Harry Maguire is "a leader again".

It took just five months following Maguire's £80m move from Leicester in 2019 for then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to install the England defender as his captain.

But the 31-year-old was stripped of the role by Solskjaer's successor Erik ten Hag in July 2023 in a move that was expected to lead to Maguire's exit from Old Trafford.

Instead, Maguire rejected a move to West Ham after United had accepted a bid for him and eventually forced his way back into Ten Hag's injury-ravaged team.

Maguire again ignored the chance to move in the summer and has gone on to outlast Ten Hag, who was sacked in October.

He has subsequently turned into one of Amorim's key men, taking up the central role in the former Sporting boss' defensive back three. He was outstanding in the FA Cup win at Arsenal at the weekend even though he had missed training because of illness in the build-up.

"I feel he is a leader again," said Amorim. "He feels more like an important player in the team.

"He believes in himself a lot and he's doing a great job.

"We have to praise Harry more than me. He was sick before the last game and was dead in the end. That is what I want from every player."

Although he is right-footed, Solskjaer used Maguire on the left of his central defence.

Ten Hag switched Maguire to the right because he didn't feel he was quick enough opening his body out to create space through his passing on the left-hand side.

Amorim feels the central position Maguire has now is perfect.

"He's really good with the ball in that position," he said.

"You can also see in this league it is really important to be good in set-pieces and when we are defending low, there are a lot of crosses. Arsenal did a lot of crosses with Harry and we controlled that area."