Harry Maguire is heading to West Ham, where he will be managed by David Moyes, who turned down the chance to sign him when briefly in charge of Manchester United
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Premier League transfer update: West Ham look to make double signing
Harry Maguire’s “big a***” prevented him from being signed by David Moyes at Manchester United.
Maguire is poised to join Moyes at West Ham after United agreed a £30million transfer fee for the centre-back. The 30-year-old wants regular game time and has decided to end his four-year spell at Old Trafford after being stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag.
He will become one of Moyes’ marquee signings in the summer transfer window, with Ajax’s Edson Alvarez and Southampton ’s James Ward-Prowse arriving to fill the void left by Declan Rice in midfield. Maguire’s move to east London means that Moyes has changed his opinion on the England defender from 2013, when he had the chance to sign him during his 10-month stint in charge of United.
“We didn’t try to sign him [when at United] but we flagged him up at that time,” Moyes explained on talkSPORT in August 2019. “I was very aware of the players in the lower leagues and had a made good career out of bringing them to Everton - whether that be Tim Cahill or all the ones we did through the years.
” Harry Maguire was another one I recognised. He played against Preston North End at home in a league game and I watched him and thought he played really well but at that time he was really big – he had a big a***.
“You thought ‘my goodness, how big is Harry going to be’ because he was a relatively young boy at that time. To be fair he looks in terrific shape and he hasn’t changed at all really.
“When I went to United, we had [Nemanja] Vidic, Rio [Ferdinand], Jonny Evans, Michael Keane, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling. So for us to go and buy another young centre-half wasn’t the biggest thing we needed at the time.
Harry Maguire’s backside put David Moyes off a transfer (
Image:
Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
“And Harry Maguire has had to go on his journey. Sometimes the players need the journey to get to where they have to go. He might have struggled then.”
Maguire eventually joined United in an £80m deal from Leicester City in July 2019. He has made 175 appearances for United over the past four years, but has fallen out of favour under Ten Hag’s management.
The Dutchman has established Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his first-choice pairing in central defence, leaving Maguire on the bench. Maguire had initially been keen to stay and fight for his place, but a move to West Ham will provide him with the regular game time he needs to keep his place in the England side.
United are considering a move for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo as a replacement for Maguire, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Taspoba and Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard are other players being monitored, with Eric Bailly being eyed by Turkish and Saudi Arabian clubs.
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