Maguire reveals Man United GPS-track players on holiday as pre-season date confirmed

Harry Maguire has revealed that Manchester United monitor their players’ fitness during the off-season by issuing GPS trackers and structured training programmes, as the club prepares to report back for pre-season on Wednesday, July 8.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, recorded in New York, the 33-year-old centre-back described this summer as his longest break since making his England debut — a consequence of being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the World Cup.

“We are back in I think Wednesday the 9th [of July],” Maguire said. “This is the longest [break] I’ve had since I made my England debut. It’s been nice, but it’s been strange. I’ll have had six-and-a-half weeks off but then to be honest, the pre-season — I normally get about three weeks before the first game, this year I’m going to have six-and-a-half weeks so I’ve got a long way to build up. Man United send you a schedule, they send you a GPS to make sure that you’re doing it. Yeah, they keep on top of you.”

Maguire did not conceal his disappointment at missing the World Cup, posting a statement on social media after Tuchel’s squad was announced. “I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had,” he wrote. “I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.”

It was a second successive major tournament missed for Maguire, who was ruled out of Euro 2024 with a calf injury. When available last season, he remained a regular starter in United’s XI.

Michael Carrick will oversee his first pre-season as United head coach, with a schedule of friendlies planned across Europe throughout July and August. The tour opens on July 18 against Wrexham in Helsinki, before United travel to Trondheim to face Rosenborg on July 24. Fixtures in Sweden, Norway, the Republic of Ireland and Poland are also scheduled ahead of the new Premier League campaign.