Manchester United captain Harry Maguire victim of bomb threat

Thursday should've been a relatively joyous day for Premier League club Manchester United, as they announced that Ajax boss Erik ten Hag will become their first-team manager following this season. 

However, United were in headlines for a much different reason. 

As explained by Sky Sports and Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic, police were called to the home of United captain Harry Maguire to investigate a bomb threat taken seriously by the footballer. According to Jack Flintham of the Manchester Evening News, Maguire has routinely been a target of online criticism due to perceived poor performances, including during Tuesday's 4-0 blowout loss to rivals Liverpool. 

Maguire lives with his fiancee and their two children. 

"On Wednesday April 20, Cheshire Police were called to reports of a bomb threat at an address in the Wilmslow area," police said in a statement. "No evacuations took place, but as a precautionary measure a police explosives dog has attended the address this afternoon, Thursday April 21, to conduct a search of the gardens and surrounding area."

A spokesperson for Maguire added: 

"In the last 24 hours, Harry has received a serious threat to his family home. He has reported this to the police who are now looking into the matter. The safety of his family and those around him is obviously Harry’s number one priority.

"He will continue to prepare for this weekend’s fixture as normal and we will not be commenting in any further detail at this time." 

United next face Arsenal on Saturday.