Manchester United have not made many more expensive transfer mistakes than Harry Maguire, but it could have played out so differently had David Moyes followed some advice
Amid all the jokes, ridicule and school-boy defending, there remains a capable player in Harry Maguire.
That’s why West Ham have just lodged a bid for him and why a number of mid-to-lower-level Premier League sides continue to monitor his situation at Manchester United as talk of an Old Trafford exit continues to linger. However, what is undeniable after four underwhelming years with the Red Devils, is that Maguire is not an £80million player.
And yet, that is what United forked out on him back in 2019 to lure the centre-back away from Leicester and make him the most expensive defender in the world at the time in the process. Hopes were high and were sent even higher when Maguire was entrusted with the captain’s armband immediately.
He has fallen drastically short of those hopes and the £80m price tag has long been an albatross around Maguire’s neck, the most expensive stick to beat him with. Things could have been oh so very different had United landed his signature sooner.