Manchester United are reportedly poised to lose the £65 million transfer battle for Harry Maguire to local rivals Manchester City this summer.
According to a report by Daily Mirror, Manchester City seem to have prevailed in the race to sign Harry Maguire in this summer’s transfer window. The Premier League champions are ready to shell out £65 million to secure the English international’s services, with Manchester United’s £40 million knocked back by Leicester City.
Harry Maguire is a player whose star has been on the up and up for quite some time. Having won back-to-back Player of the Year awards (one each for Hull City and Leicester City), he had already come on the radar of a number of clubs. But, after being a pivotal player for England at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the bigger clubs started coming for him.
In fact, Manchester United were linked quite heavily with him till the very last day of last summer’s transfer window. But, Maguire stayed put with Leicester and decided to sign a new five-year deal at the King Power Stadium.
The 26-year-old enjoyed another solid campaign with the Foxes this past season, which has resulted in interest in him resurfacing. Chief among the suitors are Manchester United again, with Premier League champions Manchester City also in the hunt.
Manchester United are undergoing a slow, perhaps methodical rebuild following a disastrous 2018-19 campaign, wherein they finished a staggering 32 points behind Manchester City. And, defence is believed to be a priority, after having shipped in an astounding 54 goals this past season.
With Victor Lindelof the only player to have given a good account of himself over the course of the campaign, a centre-back is understandably the need of the hour. To that end, Maguire is a viable target for Manchester United.
Manchester City, on the other hand, need to fill the void left by the departure of Vincent Kompany, who will be Anderlecht’s player-manager next season. While Maguire may not exactly add to the leadership element nearly as much as Kompany did, he would be a similar sort of an imposing figure.
But, while Manchester United and Manchester City have both been eager to land the English defender, they were reportedly unwilling to meet his £80 million price tag. The Mirror though, are stipulating that Leicester are willing to drop their price and could be ready to do business for £65 million.
The report further goes on to claim that Manchester City are prepared to meet the new valuation and have taken a lead in his pursuit as a result. This is because Manchester United are only offering £40 million for Maguire, which has been swiftly knocked back by Leicester.
However, the report does not mention if Manchester United are open to shelling out £65 million for him. Even if they were, the fact that they cannot offer Champions League football, as compared to Manchester City, leaves them in a spot of bother.
Indeed, if both the clubs were ready to pay the required sum, Manchester City would fancy their chances of signing Maguire. As things stand, the Premier League champions are leading the race to sign him and it now remains to be seen if Manchester United can do anything to usurp their local rivals.
