ERIK TEN HAG has forked out £100MILLION trying to replace Harry Maguire

But the stats prove he is still Manchester United’s best centre-back.

Ten Hag ensured he was reunited with his ex-Ajax defenders as United chiefs paid £56.7m for Lisandro Martinez in 2022, before splashing £42.7m on Matthijs de Ligt this summer.

This comes after Erik ten Hag has spent just shy of £100m on his replacements

Lisandro Martinez was adored by fans in his first season – but has since fallen out of favour

But the data MeritkingNews has gathered shows that Maguire is actually by far and away the most in-form centre-half at Old Trafford.

After a solid debut season in Manchester, Maguire soon faced the wrath of fans, becoming a figure of fun for rivals and a soft touch for the experts after some questionable performances.

The fact that the England ace – who arrived from Leicester for £80m – was automatically handed the club captaincy by Ole Gunnar Solkajaer didn’t help his case.

He was soon stripped of the armband by Ten Hag in June 2023 – being replaced by Bruno Fernandes, after falling behind the first-choice pairing of Martinez and Raphael Varane.

And United even agreed to sell Maguire to West Ham last summer – before the former Sheffield United defender vowed to fight for his place.

And he’s done just that, proving that he’s arguably still the best centre-back at Ten Hag’s disposal.

In fact, Maguire has beaten Martinez and De Ligt in nine out of 13 stat categories recorded in all competitions so far this term.

Maguire has won the most duels with 5.3 per 90 minutes, compared to Martinez’s 2.9 and De Ligt’s 4.8.