Aston Villa have reportedly made contact with Manchester United to register their interest in signing Harry Maguire in the ongoing summer transfer window.
Aston Villa are now set to rival West Ham United in the race to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United. That’s according to a report from Football Transfers, which says that Unai Emery’s side have made enquiries with United over a potential deal for Maguire following the serious injury picked up by Tyrone Mings.
Mings sustained what seemed to be a very serious injury against Newcastle United in Villa’s Premier League opener on Saturday afternoon, as he had to be stretchered off the pitch. Although the extent of the injury is unclear as of now, there are concerns that he may have sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL), which would rule him out at least until the turn of the year.
Should that be the case, Villa are expected to dip back into the transfer market to secure another new central defender, having already brought Pau Torres from Villarreal earlier this summer.
Although Villa will not make a move for Maguire until they find out the severity of Mings’ injury and for how long he will be out, they have made initial contact with Manchester United and have informed them that they will match and beat any bids for the England international.
Maguire has seemed destined to leave United ever since manager Erik ten Hag stripped him of the captaincy and appointed Bruno Fernandes in the leadership role.
The 30-year-old, who has two more years left on his current contract at Old Trafford, has been linked with several Premier League clubs this summer, including Tottenham and Aston Villa, but a switch to David Moyes’ West Ham has appeared most likely in recent weeks after the Red Devils accepted a £30 million bid from the Hammers, but a switch to the London Stadium has stalled, with personal terms believed to be a major stumbling block.
The England international’s current wage packet at Old Trafford is thought to be around £190,000 a week, but West Ham are only said to be willing to offer £120,000 a week, meaning that he would have to accept a pay cut to move to the capital outfit.
Although there have been suggestions that United would be willing to hand Maguire a £6 million pay-off to facilitate the move, the player is not convinced by the offer from the Europa Conference League winners, while other reports claim that West Ham are eyeing a move for Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou as an alternative.
With the Maguire-to-West Ham transfer currently hanging in the balance, there is a window for other clubs to pounce, and it seems Aston Villa plans to do just that. Given that Maguire has previously looked more comfortable in a left-sided central defensive role, the England international fits the bill for Unai Emery’s side.
Erik ten Hag’s side are currently having trouble with funds as the Dutchman looks to bolster his squad with at least two more players before the window slams shut at the end of the month, so the prospect of a bidding war emerging might be good news for the Red Devils. It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the coming days.