Norwich mock under-fire Man Utd captain Harry Maguire with savage jibe

Norwich City have aimed a savage jibe at Harry Maguire after suggesting their defender Grant Hanley is superior to the Manchester United captain.

The 29-year-old defender has endured a difficult season at Old Trafford, with calls to drop the defender after a recent run of poor form. And while the defender cost a world-record £80million fee from Leicester City only three years ago, it appears he is actually no better than Norwich’s Hanley.

The club’s official Twitter account posted a tweet with the caption that read: "How the number 5s compare after 26 appearances made." Attached to that was a graphic, showing a side-by-side comparison of the two players with a selected metric of statistical data.

And according to their findings, Hanley is not only better value than England international Maguire but the superior player too. The 30-year-old signed from Newcastle United in 2018 for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £5m – some £75m cheaper than what United splashed out on Maguire.

Both players have made 26 appearances in the Premier League this season and scored one goal apiece. But when getting down to the finer details that separate the good and bad defenders, Hanley’s statistics began to look more favourable than Maguire’s.

According to the figures, the Scotland international has won 143 duels this season — a massive 27 more than the Man United defender’s 116. However, it is not disclosed how many duels those figures originate from — meaning Hanley feasibly could have participated in and lost more than Maguire.

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Shockingly, Maguire and Hanley both have six clean sheets to their name this season. That is despite Norwich’s current position at the bottom of the Premier League table, only to further highlight United’s defensive deficiencies.

Few will be surprised to learn that Maguire’s passing accuracy is better than his fellow centre-back, completing 86 per cent of his passes compared to Hanley’s 82. But when relating to the nasty side of defending, Hanley comes out on top again.

The Canaries captain has made 21 successful tackles this season — four more than the England international — showing his tendency to make the more risky challenges. And with Hanley bettering Maguire in two categories to one, statistically-speaking it appears the former Blackburn man is a more adequate defender than the struggling United star.

The cheeky jibe from the club’s social staff is nothing more than a cheeky swipe at Maguire to kick off the mind games ahead of their crunch meeting this weekend on Saturday which could help decide the fate of their respective seasons.

Norwich are currently bottom of the Premier League and Dean Smith’s side are five points adrift of safety from relegation. As for Man United, Maguire is expected to start as Ralf Rangnick’s men look to rescue their season by improving their chances of securing a European spot for next season.

Maguire may have been motivated to end his season on a high anyway, but hanging a print-out of that tweet in the dressing room may give him some extra fire in his belly — and the Canaries’ joke could well backfire on them if he turns in a fine performance.

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