Harry Maguire decided to fight for his place this summer.
The England international made his fifth start for United in their 1-0 win over Luton Town on Saturday.
He lost his starting place since the arrival of Lisandro Martinez last summer and was also stripped off the captaincy this year.
Maguire was close to a move to West Ham United during the summer transfer window but wanted to prove himself by fighting for a place in the starting XI.
The 30-year-old defender has started the last eight games in all competitions and forced his way back into Erik ten Hag’s team.
“I played a few games last year, 16 or 17 starts, and I felt like I performed really well in the games I played in, I just didn’t play as many as I would have liked,” Maguire said. “On the other hand, Rapha [Raphaël Varane] and Licha [Lisandro Martínez] were playing brilliantly and kept numerous clean sheets.
“I had to bide my time and be patient. I had two or three opportunities last season to get a run of games but I broke down with illness, I broke down with injuries twice, so I never got the rhythm.
“I was willing to stay and fight for my place and we have four or five top international centre-backs at this club and the competition for places is really high.”
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