There is about a week left to go before manager Erik ten Hag and Manchester United kick off the 2023/24 Premier League campaign properly. After the improvements the Dutchman has made at Old Trafford during his time in charge so far, United fans have high hopes that further improvements can be made during this campaign and we can continue on our upward trajectory.
With the signings of Mason Mount, Jonny Evans and Andre Onana already secured to bolster our playing staff, it seems unlikely that our spending is quite done yet and that alone will drive the sale of Manchester United tickets, especially in light of the speculation that continues to remain on the transfer window rumour mill, but fans will also have their eyes on further departures.
One of the main rumours concerns the future of England centre half Harry Maguire. The 30-year-old former Leicester City defender joined for a whopping £80 million back in August of 2019 and he has gone on to make just over 150 appearances for us (across all competitions) in the years since his arrival.
His game time last season though was not really great (particularly from a starting point of view), and it has long appeared that Ten Hag simply does not fancy him, and building on the rumours that existed back in the January transfer window, this summer Everton, Chelsea, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur have all been linked with having a plausible interest in him. Chelsea would be the outlier here, but you can see why Maguire’s experience could be very attractive to new manager Mauricio Pochettino as he looks to completely rebuild the very struggling London club, even though the signing of Maguire, in and of it itself, would not necessarily sell official football tickets.
In any event, if latest reports are to be believed, it is being suggested that Everton could now be in pole position for his capture as they are more willing to meet his claimed current contract of near £200,000 a week wages, given the departures they have seen in the last few transfer windows.
The issue for perspective suitors, and United, when it comes to negotiations is simply the fact that Maguire has two years left on his current deal, so if Ten Hag does want rid now and sees no future for him at the club under his preferred system, we are undoubtedly going to have to be fluid on the fee demanded and that will likely mean taking a significant loss on what was a massive initial outlay.
Reports this weekend have suggested that we would be willing to deal at around the £35 million mark, but it is also claimed that Maguire is prepared to dig in and insist that his remaining £10 million a year contract is paid up in full before he will even consider agreeing an exit and signing fresh terms elsewhere.
From Maguire’s perspective, if he is not desperate to leave, he would only need to reference the deal struck with Ronaldo that saw him move on, to justify his own standpoint. Whilst Everton are supposed to be in pole position, reports further claim that West Ham are preparing a second and improved offer for the player, but they still fall well short of United’s knockdown valuation.
It could be a busy few weeks on the negotiation front.
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