Everton are plotting a surprise summer swoop to sign Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, according to reports.
Is Harry Maguire leaving Man United?
The Red Devils centre-back first made the move to Old Trafford from at the time Premier League rivals Leicester City back in 2019 and he’s since gone on to record a total of 175 appearances, not to mention that he even became such an integral member of the squad that he was handed the captain’s armband.
The England international still has another two years to run on his contract, but last season he fell significantly out of favour under Erik Ten Hag, having made just eight starts in the top-flight, so could be looking to secure a move elsewhere to a club where he knows he will receive sufficient game time.
Following the departures of Conor Coady and Yerry Mina at the heart of the defence, Sean Dyche will need to enter the market for backline reinforcements during the upcoming window to get his number of options back up, and the 30-year-old appears to have been highlighted as an ideal target at Goodison Park.
Are Everton signing Maguire?
According to Football Transfers, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are all “interested” in striking a deal for Maguire ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. Man United have put the defender “up for sale” and it’s believed that the veteran himself also “wants to leave”.
The M16 outfit have been planning his exit for “several months” and have placed a £35m price tag on his head, a fee which they are “determined to receive” in order to make a sale worthwhile.
The 6 foot 4 colossus is hoping to leave the building in search of “regular” football to make sure that he is able to maintain his place on the international stage and remain in Gareth Southgate’s thoughts for England’s upcoming Euro 2024 tournament.
Should Farhad Moshiri move for Maguire?
Everton might have thought that with Maguire sharing the same agent, Triple S Sports, as James Garner, that they may have had a chance of using a familiar representative to reach an agreement, but the centre-back had a horrid last season so Farhad Moshiri should steer well clear of a summer swoop.
The World Cup participant ranked as Ten Hag’s 18th worst-performing defensive player out of 25 squad members during the previous term, averaging just 0.5 tackles per top-flight game, not to mention that he had no impact at the opposite end of the pitch having posted zero goals or assists across all competitions.
United’s “terrible” captain, as slammed by journalist Josh Bunting, also earns £190k-per-week so is likely to have extreme salary demands which the Toffees couldn’t afford – Jordan Pickford is only on £125k-per-week and he is the highest earner on Merseyside, via Capology.
Maguire has previously been booed by his own supporters during one of the Red Devils’ pre-season tours for his poor level of performances and this toxicity being created with the fanbase is something that the boss could do without, so he certainly isn’t a player that should be being targeted in the weeks and months ahead.