According to reports, Harry Maguire won’t be moving to West Ham this summer because Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants the English defender to compete for a spot.
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Following the £105 million departure of Declan Rice to Arsenal earlier this summer, David Moyes is looking to bolster his squad. The Hammers and the defender reached an agreement on a cost of £30 million last Wednesday.
According to reports from earlier today, the Europa Conference League champions were impatient waiting for the defender to complete his departure from Old Trafford. Maguire was reportedly seeking a pay-off of almost £7 million.
According to The Athletic, Maguire’s transfer to Old Trafford has been called off, and he won’t be moving to the London Stadium this summer.
According to rumors, Ten Hag still values the 30-year-old’s contributions to the team and is content to let him compete for a spot.
After a rocky start to the previous season, Maguire was taken off the starting lineup, and Ten Hag relieved him of his captaincy over the summer.
Maguire allegedly never reached a personal agreement with the Hammers and hadn’t spoken to their boss David Moyes despite the uncertainties surrounding his future.
The agreement fell through as a result of Mail Sport’s Transfer Confidential’s Monday revelation that Maguire’s transfer to West Ham was stalling because United wanted to find a replacement first before authorizing his departure.
Erik ten Hag’s side finished third last season which meant the 30-year-old received a significant wage increase as a result of their return to the Champions League.
The 30-year-old has had a tumultuous time at United since his record-breaking £80m move from Leicester in 2019.
He initially impressed and was appointed as club captain by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
However, in the past few years, he has struggled and faced heavy criticism which culminated in him being stripped of the club captaincy earlier this summer by Ten Hag.
Ahead of Euro 2024, West Ham was prepared to give the English player playing time after he fell down the United hierarchy last season and made only eight Premier League starts.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, the team’s regular starters, and Maguire began the game against Wolves on the sidelines.
At halftime, Ten Hag substituted Martinez, who had been booked, with Victor Lindelof instead of Maguire.
Maguire hasn’t played for his club in a while, but he’s still an important player for Gareth Southgate at the international level, starting England’s last 11 games across all competitions.
He will certainly face competition for his spot this season from players like Levi Colwill and Marc Guehi, which will make it more important for him to play frequently before the tournament next summer.
Maguire defended his contribution to United in a March interview despite occasionally playing fifth-choice centre-back during the previous season.
Naturally, I haven’t played as much as I’d wanted this season, but for my club, I feel like my form has been strong.
‘I know people naturally notice when I’m not playing, but in my past eight or nine starts for Manchester United, I believe we have won.
I don’t recall ever losing a game for Manchester United; the season must be in its third week. Therefore, my effect still exists.
Moyes has continued to experience a trying summer as he struggles to make the transfers he wants to while also having disagreements with technical director Tim Steidten.
They were the last Premier League club to make a signing before last week’s £35.4 million addition of Mexico and Ajax star Edson Alvarez.
The Hammers later announced the £30 million acquisition of James Ward-Prowse on Monday, but their supporters will be hopeful for more additions this summer.
