Harry Maguire set to stay at Manchester United as West Ham consider alternatives
The Hammers had agreed a £30million fee with United for the England international last week but the deal had stalled, with Maguire yet to agree a reach an agreement with his current club over a pay-off.
The centre-back would have had to take a significant wage cut to join the Irons, having seen his salary increase as a result of United’s qualification for the Champions League, and was therefore hoping to negotiate a lucrative departure from Old Trafford.
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West Ham had grown frustrated at the delay however, and have been considering other targets including Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah. The Hammers’ new technical director Tim Steidten previously worked for the German club.
Maguire was an unused substitute during United’s 1-0 victory over Wolves in their Premier League season opener on Monday night, with Victor Lindelof preferred when Erik ten Hag sacrificed Lisandro Martinez at half-time after the Argentine had been booked.
Ten Hag stripped Maguire of the United captaincy earlier this summer and at times last season even preferred to use left-back Luke Shaw as a makeshift centre-half.
Should Maguire remain at United without forcing his way back into Ten Hag’s plans, the defender’s England place would surely come under threat, with less than twelve months to go until next summer’s European Championships.
Gareth Southgate has been extremely loyal to the 30-year-old, who has partnered John Stones at each of the past three major tournaments, but has growing options at centre-back with the likes of Chelsea’s Levi Colwill and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi highly-rated.
