Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has angered Tottenham and West Ham by announcing a player won’t be leaving this summer, despite the fact that he might not start frequently next season
David de Gea, Phil Jones, and Axel Tuanzebe were already permitted to depart Old Trafford this summer on free transfers by Manchester United. As Ten Hag launches the next phase of his Man Utd revolution, numerous more players are expected to find new clubs.
There may be transfer opportunities for players like Fred, Scott McTominay, Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire, and Donny van de Beek.
On July 16, after Ten Hag stripped him of the captaincy and replaced him with Bruno Fernandes, the rumors around center-back Maguire grew more intense.
Aston Villa, West Ham, and Tottenham have all been monitoring Maguire’s position. The Guardian reports that Chelsea hopes to re-sign former player Marc Guehi instead of making a surprise approach for him.
In spite of his dissatisfaction with the captaincy, Ten Hag wants Maguire to remain at Man Utd, talkSPORT reported on Thursday.
That has now been confirmed by the manager of the Red Devils, effectively putting an end to Spurs, West Ham, and Villa’s pursuit of the England international.
Ten Hag stated, “Harry’s very important for this squad, for this team,” according to the Evening Standard
Ten Hag talks about the Man Utd. Harry Maguire scenario
“And, as you may know, we have four center backs in addition to him. I mentioned consistency, and since we know we can’t do it with 11 players, I’m glad we have four excellent center backs.
“And we will require them, and he must contend for his position, as he did the previous year. He has a lot of promise, therefore I know he’ll succeed. He’ll battle for his position and then it’s up to him.”
Maguire was last season’s fourth-choice center-back, behind Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane, and Lisandro Martinez. That appears to be the case for the upcoming season as well, albeit Maguire won’t have to contend with fellow defender Eric Bailly as he might be traded soon.
Even if Ten Hag had given Maguire permission to start negotiations with a rival Premier League team, it’s not clear if those conversations would result in a settlement.
When acquiring Maguire from Leicester in 2019, Man Utd forked over an astounding £80m. As a result, if they let him go, they would want to get some of that money back
However, given that Maguire is now 30 years old and is also lacking in confidence as a result of a trying time at Manchester United, interested clubs would not want to pay a hefty amount.
Additionally, like the majority of his teammates, Maguire received a pay increase after Man Utd earned a spot in the Champions League for the upcoming season. He now makes much more than what teams like Spurs or West Ham would be willing to pay him as a result.
Maguire will now attempt to fight his way back into the Man Utd lineup rather than obtaining a trade. He runs the risk of merely having a supporting role for England at Euro 2024 if he fails to do this.
