Manchester United have told Harry Maguire he will not be leaving the club during the transfer window barring a late change of mind by the Old Trafford hierarchy.
Erik ten Hag had recommended to United’s football director, John Murtough, that Maguire should be sold, with West Ham appearing the centre-back’s most likely destination. A £30m deal appeared set to go through a fortnight ago only to break down due to Maguire’s demand for a £7m payoff to make up the shortfall in salary he would have lost by taking a reduced wage in east London.
With Ten Hag needing to find a replacement should Maguire leave in the final few days of the window, time is increasingly against him doing so, and especially so to West Ham following their £19m purchase of the Greek central defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart last week.
Maguire joined United from Leicester for a world-record £80m fee in August 2019 and has endured an increasingly torrid time at Old Trafford, culminating with him being stripped of the captaincy last month. He is yet to feature for Ten Hag’s side so far this season, though was on the bench for Saturday’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. His value to the Dutchman has increased, however, given the injury Raphaël Varane sustained against Forest. United are awaiting scans to understand the severity of the Frenchman’s injury.
United are continuing to explore the possibility of signing a left-back before Friday’s deadline as cover for the injured Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia. Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilón and Barcelona’s Marcos Alonso are on Ten Hag’s list of targets.
