It’s not been a great season for Harry Maguire. The defender has gone flying down the Manchester United pecking order and Erik ten Hag’s revival of the Red Devils’ fortunes has gone hand in hand with the captain’s demotion to the bench. Maguire has only mustered five Premier League starts this season, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez clearly preferred to the England international.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Unless Maguire fancies following in the footsteps of Phil Jones by sticking around Old Trafford well past his sell-by date, it’s probably time to move on. The 30-year-old centre-back still has options, England boss Gareth Southgate still loves him, so there must be a space for Maguire somewhere across Europe.
1) Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs defensive options are… not great. Between Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, Japhet Tanganga and Clement Lenglet (who will most likely be shipped back to Barcelona this summer), Tottenham could definitely use some reinforcements at the back. They’ve conceded 41 goals this season – only six teams have a worse record in the entire division.
A back three of Maguire, Romero and Dier provides the tantalising prospect of the trio playing a game of ‘who can get sent off or give a goal away first’. The deal is likely to be possible too: with Harry Kane looking like he may be heading to Old Trafford, who’s to say the two clubs can’t organise a Harry for Harry swap. Exchanging the greatest goalscorer in the club’s history for a man lovingly referred to as ‘Slabhead’ does seem very Spursy.
2) PSG
Before you start laughing, this one has some backing to it. In March it was reported that PSG offered £50 million for the defender, and were unsurprisingly comfortable matching his £200,000-a-week wages.
PSG’s backline has taken some hits this year; defensive stalwart Presnel Kimpembe has spent the majority of the season out injured and relying on 37-year-old Sergio Ramos may not be ideal for one of the world’s richest clubs. With current head coach Christophe Galtier being a fan of the three at the back, it would make sense if PSG wanted to bring in some more central defenders to finally try and deliver the Champions League trophy they so desperately crave
3) Newcastle United
In a similar vein to PSG, there’s no doubt Newcastle would have the funds to pull a deal off. If the Magpies successfully finish in the Champions League spots, they would undoubtedly need to increase the depth of the squad, even if Newcastle’s defence may look like it doesn’t need improving, with the best defensive record in the country.
Last month, Newcastle were linked with Maguire and a transfer up north would certainly make sense. He’s an international player with Champions League experience, and certainly an improvement on Jamaal Lascelles, if not Sven Botman.
4) Leicester City
This one hinges a lot on the final ten games of the season; if Leicester can’t avoid the drop, Harry won’t be going back. No matter what some Manchester United fans may think on Twitter, Maguire is still better than the Championship. If Leicester do manage to sort themselves out and stay in the Premier League, a bid is not out of the question.
Leicester may well end up with some cash to spend this summer. James Maddison is rumoured for a £50million exit and Wilfred Ndidi is linked with one club or another every year. Tielemans is also likely to be off the wage bill. Harry could end up returning to the club who sold him for a world-record fee for a defender just four years ago.
5) Sheffield United
This one is a long shot. A very long shot. But who’s to say Maguire doesn’t fancy coming home? The Blades are looking increasingly likely to make a return to the top flight next year and if the club end up getting sold to new potential owner Dozy Mmobuosi, there may be enough cash knocking around to tempt Maguire back to his boyhood club.
That’s a lot of ifs and maybes, however, and with there still being questions over Mmobuosi’s take over, it seems unlikely they’d want to spend tens of millions on a out of form 30-year-old centre-back with massive wage demands. Maguire has found himself in the same position as many other failing high-end players: those that can afford him don’t want him, and those that want him can’t afford him. Manchester United need to fund a squad revamp, so it’s seems unlikely they’ll let him go cheap.
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