According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein Manchester United have rejected a £20 million offer from West Ham United for their ex-captain Harry Maguire.
Man United had paid £80 million to Leicester City back in 2019 for Maguire’s signature but the England international has turned out to be a massive failure at the club. He’s fallen down the pecking order and right now, he’s the fourth-choice central defender behind Martinez, Varane and also Victor Lindelof.
Maguire’s also been forced to hand over his captain’s armband to Bruno Fernandes and all signs have been pointing to an imminent exit so this rejection of West Ham’s offer has come as a shock to many people with some claiming that Erik ten Hag might be planning to hold onto to Harry Maguire.
Will Man United refuse to sell Harry Maguire and will the Hammers make an improved offer?
Maguire’s current valuation is £17 million and his contract with Man United expires in 2025 so West Ham United have made a very good offer for the 30-year-old.
However, United were initially asking for around £50 million for Harry Maguire and the Hammers’ offer is not even close to these demands. Thankfully, as per Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness, as many as five Serie A clubs are interested in signing the central defender and maybe United feel one of these sides will be ready to pay what they’re asking and possibly this is why they have rejected West Ham’s approach.
Maguire warmed the benches last season but he’s still a regular for the England national team and if so many Italian clubs wish to sign him then there’s every guarantee Man United will be able to bag more than £20 million.
As far as West Ham United are concerned, they have brought in £105 million from Rice’s move to Arsenal so they can even afford to pay £25-30 million for the defender but it’s his massive salary that is going to be an issue. He currently earns £190,000 per week(as per Spotrac) at Old Trafford and there’s no way the Hammers can match this.
Lucas Paquetá is currently their highest earner at £150,000 per week so unless Harry Maguire is ready to take a massive pay cut we don’t think West Ham United are going to return with an improved bid.
Manchester United are ready to offload Maguire because they need money for their new arrivals but if they feel they can get around £35-40 million then there’s no need for them to accept a meagre offer.
There’s no denying that Harry Maguire has turned out to be a failure at Manchester United because his style of football does not fit in with Ten Hag’s philosophy but there are tons of other clubs that will be happy to bring him on board.
