Harry Maguire: What next at Man Utd after West Ham move falls through
- Maguire looked set to join West Ham United in a £30m deal
- However, the deal has collapsed as a result of financial issues
- Maguire may have to accept an understudy role at Man Utd again
Could there have been a more David Moyes signing than Harry Maguire to West Ham United?
The Manchester United defender was all set for a £30m move to the London Stadium after a difficult season of bench warming and unrelenting criticism. It looked as if Moyes was going to get the centre-back he needs, while also offering Maguire a fresh start in the Premier League.
However, a deal for the 30-year-old has collapsed, and it now appears that Maguire will take residence on the Man Utd bench for another season. It will come as a major blow to the England international, who now faces the unenviable task of trying to displace Raphael Varane or Lisandro Martinez if he is to get back his old starting place.
So, what next for Maguire at Old Trafford?
Why did Maguire to West Ham collapse?
Sources have informed 90min that Maguire's move to West Ham fell through due to financial issues.
Maguire had agreed to take a pay cut at West Ham but wanted a pay-off from United to account for his loss of earnings over the final two years of his contract at Old Trafford. Maguire and United could not come to an agreement, meaning a move to West Ham became impossible to negotiate.
This could have serious repercussions for Erik ten Hag who was keen on replacing Maguire with Benjamin Pavard or Jean-Clair Todibo, but whether United can now facilitate a deal for another centre-back remains to be seen with the former skupper still on the wage bill.
The Red Devils' move for Sofyan Amrabat is already stalling because they are unable to make enough room in the squad by offloading players, and a similar situation could emerge at centre-back.
Will Maguire feature for Man Utd this season?
It appears unlikely that Maguire will play an awful lot for United this season. The former Leicester City man made 31 appearances under Ten Hag last campaign, only 16 of which were in the Premier League. For reference, the club played over 60 games in all competitions.
Given seven of his appearances came in the Europa League, one would imagine Maguire will feature even more sparsely given that the boss will be less likely to rotate in the Champions League. The centre-back may get the odd game here and there in the Premier League or the domestic cup competitions, but it's unlikely that he will see much more game time than that.
His minutes would be even less assured if Ten Hag does end up signing another centre-back, and he would drop to fifth in the pecking order.
What does this mean for his England future?
Despite having struggled for minutes at club level, England boss Gareth Southgate has always kept the faith in Maguire. Even when his form has dipped, he has always found his way into the England XI.
His performances have always usually been better at international level, perhaps because Southgate demands less of him than his club side, but sooner or later his lack of match sharpness will impact his role within the England setup.
With the likes of Marc Guehi and Levi Colwill emerging as top quality left-sided centre-backs, Maguire may face more competition for his place than in recent years. It will get harder and harder for Southgate to justify selecting the United defender if he is not playing regularly.
Could Maguire still leave?
One of the issues between West Ham and Man Utd in their deal for Maguire was the fact that the Hammers were not able to pay the defender the wages he is currently on at Old Trafford.
Maguire is repotred to earn £190,000-a-week, meaning, theoretically, if a club is interested in signing him and can afford his wages, a deal should be easy to negotiate. While Maguire was prepared to accept a wage cut to go to West Ham, he would only do so with the caveat that United reimburse him for his loss of earnings during the final two years of his deal at Old Trafford.
However, there haven't been many clubs seriously pursuing the 30-year-old, let alone those capable of paying his large wages. Therefore, Maguire will either have to stay put in Manchester, or accept a financial hit to play regular football.
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Liverpool's response to losing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Harry Maguire's Man Utd future and more!
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!