Ten Hag claims he's 'HAPPY' that Harry Maguire rejected a £30m move to West Ham

Erik ten Hag insists he is happy that Harry Maguire turned down a £30million move to West Ham – but still hopes to keep veteran centre-back Jonny Evans at Manchester United this season.

Although United accepted West Ham’s offer for Maguire, the 30-year-old defender wasn’t able to agree personal terms that would have seem him take a pay-cut on his current £190,000-a-week wages.

Maguire is now set to remain at Old Trafford this season and compete for his place alongside Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof, even though Ten Hag has demoted him to fourth-choice centre-back and stripped him of the captaincy.

The United manager claims that he is happy over Maguire’s decision and once again challenged the England international to prove that he deserves a first-team place.

‘Harry is a player for us, and I’m happy he is here,’ said Ten Hag. ‘We need a good squad and we have four good centre-halves. Including Luke Shaw, we have five and we need it because we are going to play 50 to 60 games this season.

‘All the players are internationals, so we have a very heavy load to cover and I am happy Harry Maguire is here.

‘He has to fight for his position, as everyone in the squad has to, because we have constructed a squad with two players for every position and we need it.’

Maguire only eight Premier League starts last season and Ten Hag added: ‘It's up to him. He knows what to expect from me. I’ve been here now for one year and you know what I expect from a centre-half.

‘He can do it, I've told you many times before he has the abilities to do it, so now he has to show it. It is then about character, to be convinced to play that role. He has all the abilities to do it and it is up to him when the time is there.’

Evans has