Harry Maguire believes he will join Manchester United before the transfer window shuts. The 25-year-old joined Leicester from Hull City last summer and has been brilliant for the Foxes since his debut.
He also got a chance to play for England at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he was impressive throughout the tournament. Maguire’s performance in Russia has made him a huge transfer target for Manchester United and other top clubs.
The England international has four years left on his current contract at the King Power Stadium, which means that United will have to spend big to land the defender at Old Trafford.
Metro reports that Maguire has admitted, ‘every player wants to play at the highest level’ hinting that he would welcome the chance to switch to Old Trafford. ‘I’ve just come back from playing at a World Cup, where I really enjoyed the high pressure of the games.
‘It was something that I really thrived off. Leicester have been unbelievable to me and I’m really happy there but I’m also an ambitious player and everyone wants to play at the top,’ he added.
Gareth Southgate’s men were able to reach the semi-finals of the competition – losing 2-1 against Croatia in extra-time – with Maguire’s overall performance at the World Cup praised.
Harry Maguire’s #WorldCup game by numbers vs. #SWE:
85% passing accuracy
68 touches
9 aerial duels won
6 clearances
2 shots
2 chances created
1 shot on target
1 goalMt. Maguire reaches new heights. ? pic.twitter.com/mj1HGcTZJc
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 7, 2018
His passing ability, leadership, strength and nerve were all acknowledged.
Inevitably, Maguire’s name has been linked with a host of high-flying clubs including Premier League runners-up Manchester United.
Speaking on Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT, via the Daily Star, Sam Allardyce discussed what he feels is needed to succeed as a defender for the Red Devils, with the former Everton manager admitting he feels Maguire is definitely good enough to make the transition to Manchester.
“If you get a good coach, they both take into consideration and stop this palaver about centre halves being good on the ball.
“You’ve got to be a very good defender if you’re going to play for Manchester United.
“I remember speaking to Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd about this. If you’re going to play for Manchester United you’ve got to be able to handle one-on-one.
“Manchester United need to go and break teams down and to commit, so if you’re a central defender you have to sit there one-on-one and be able to cope with it.This means you have to be one of the best defenders in the league. You can still teach Harry that defensive side of the game. Everybody needs to keep being reminded about what their responsibilities are.
“He’s certainly got the potential to get even better.”
Manchester United kick-off their Premier League campaign on August 10 against Harry Maguire’s Leicester City.
Mourinho has brought in only Diogo Dalot and Brazilian midfielder Fred in this transfer season and the United midfielder has been lamenting about the lack of signings.
The club finished 2nd last season but more than 15 points behind neighbors City. And they have a lot of catch up to do if they want to mount a challenge for the title.
That won’t be easy especially with Liverpool having splashed money on Keita, Fabinho and recently Alison Becker.