Former Man Utd legend Roy Keane has been taking potshots at Bruno Fernandes recently, but he might now have a new target.
Roy Keane was critical of England players complaining about missing out on the World Cup squad
It didn’t take a great deal of imagination to work out who Roy Keane was talking about when he criticised England players complaining about failing to make the cut for Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
Keane, a pundit for ITV during the Three Lions friendly against New Zealand, was asked about some of the big-name absences from Tuchel’s 26-man squad and made it clear he had no time for those who had missed out.
Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White all missed out in the battle for attacking midfield spots, but it was Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire who went public with his anger after being overlooked in defence.
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Maguire took to social media before the squad had been announced to say how disappointed he was, a decision that Tuchel admitted left him “a bit surprised”.
“I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had,” Maguire posted the day before the squad was announced.
“I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I wish the players all the best.”
As a result, it is the decision not to select the in-form 33-year-old that has probably attracted the most scrutiny, and when Keane was asked about those who have missed out, it is Maguire who might have been at the front of his mind.
“Every time we do an England game, we speak a lot about players who have been left out or in terms of the squad are left out of the starting XI,” he said.
“But I think if you can’t get into a squad of 26, that’s on you. That is on the player, you’ve not done enough to convince that manager and there will always be uproar with England for players that are left out if they play for certain clubs but that’s on you, if you can’t make a squad of 26, that’s on you, don’t blame anyone else.”
As the only player to go public with his disappointment, Keane almost certainly has Maguire in his mind when talking about people blaming others.
The former United captain has been critical of Maguire previously. He once mocked him when doing punditry on Sky Sports and said on ITV that “I wouldn’t listen too much to what Harry has got to say.”
Keane did admit last year that he had “crossed the line” with Maguire and reached out to apologise, but it’s part of the 54-year-old’s shtick now to be critical of his former club. He has spent the past month criticising Fernandes at every opportunity, to the point that he has misquoted the current United captain to try to prove his point.
That led Fernandes to accuse Keane of telling a “lie”. Keane didn’t apologise for that, instead using social media to mock another United player. So as he sharpens his knives for Maguire once again, nobody should be surprised that it’s another Old Trafford regular in his sights.
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