Harry Maguire £30m move to West Ham is a perfect fit for all parties as Man Utd gets him off the books.
Shorn of the United captaincy and much of his confidence at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada 10 days ago, Maguire was openly lambasted in front of his team-mates and more than 50,000 spectators by new goalkeeper Andre Onana after giving up a chance to Borussia Dortmund.
Shortly afterwards, manager Erik ten Hag replaced his fringe players with first-team regulars. Maguire made way for Jonny Evans, his 35-year-old former Leicester City teammate who has returned to United on a short-term contract. It was another clear indication of Maguire’s lowly place in the pecking order.
On Sunday at the Aviva Stadium, the smattering of boos Maguire has become accustomed to hearing from idiots on tour followed him to Dublin where an error on what may well be his final appearance for United led to a goal against Athletic Bilbao.
Never mind that he helped set up a late equalizer for a shadow side put out by Ten Hag, Maguire was cast as the fall guy again.
It is turning into a rather sad end to a United career that began with a world record transfer for a defender when he joined United from Leicester four years ago this month, and may conclude with a £30million move to West Ham after the two clubs agreed a fee in principle yesterday (wed).
At the age of 30, Maguire needs to be playing regular first-team football having made just eight Premier League starts last season. He knows that situation can’t continue if he wants to keep his England place at the Euros next summer.
He is understood to be tempted by the opportunity of working with David Moyes who would play Maguire to his strengths in a more conventional defensive system than Ten Hag and is prepared to make him captain at West Ham.
There are still obstacles to overcome, however, which explains why Maguire’s camp are still keeping their options open.
He is said to be concerned about uncertainty over Moyes’s future and how much he would play if a new manager comes in.
Personal terms could also be a sticking point. West Ham won’t be able to match Maguire’s £190,000-a-week wages so United would have to make up the shortfall over the remaining two years of his contract which amounts to a £10m pay-off.
But United are lining up replacements and a fresh start would make sense for Maguire. It’s hoped that he could rediscover the form and self-belief that has suffered during the last year.
He has not suddenly become a bad player and remains one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team sheet, if not Ten Hag’s.
The Maguire issue has become an increasingly thorny one for the United manager. Despite sending out positive signals about the player throughout his time in charge, Ten Hag’s team selections have told a different story.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have become the first-choice partnership in central defence. Victor Lindelof is next in line. When Luke Shaw was used as an auxiliary centre-back by Ten Hag last season, we knew Maguire’s days were numbered.
Having kept the captaincy when Ten Hag took over last summer, it was no surprise to see it taken off Maguire and given to Bruno Fernandes last month even though the decision is said to have floored him after he put in extra work at a training camp in Portugal this summer before reporting for pre-season.
In truth, Fernandes has been the de facto captain for some time. When United won the Carabao Cup in February, the decision to bring Maguire off the bench in the 88th minute in time to lift the trophy felt like little more than an act of charity. He deserves better than that.
Yet he has become an easy target for critics inside and outside the club who would do well to remember that he did not ask United to pay £80m for him in 2019 – when he was also wanted for Manchester City by Pep Guardiola – any more than he twisted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arm to make him captain.
Fans have been quick to turn on him and last year Maguire was forced to temporarily move his young family out of their Cheshire home following a bomb threat.
A few months earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba led a delegation of senior players who urged interim manager Ralf Rangnick to drop him.
Through it all, Maguire has not always helped himself. He isn’t the most charismatic of captains and there is the small matter of a retrial in Greece next February, three-and-a-half years after he appealed against a conviction for assault and attempted bribery following an incident during a family holiday in Mykonos.
But he remains a fine defender — and that is what West Ham hope they could be getting.