Manchester United’s defender, Harry Maguire, finds his future at Old Trafford in jeopardy as club legend Dwight Yorke advises the club’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to offload the 31-year-old. With Erik ten Hag seeking to enhance his defensive lineup, Maguire’s position seems increasingly unstable.
Ten Hag’s recent signing of Leny Yoro and his interest in Matthijs de Ligt further cloud Maguire’s prospects, especially as he enters the final year of his contract. Dwight Yorke has expressed his opinion on the matter, suggesting that United needs to be decisive and sell Maguire to recoup some of their £80 million ($102.8 million) investment.
Yorke, speaking to Premier League Betting, stated, “Harry Maguire could sit out the last year of his contract and know he’s going to play at some point due to injuries, but United really need to be ruthless and get rid of him. They have Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, and maybe Leny Yoro. But Harry Maguire is in the position that he doesn’t have to go anywhere if he doesn’t want to.”
He further emphasized that the optimal time to transfer Maguire was before the upcoming Euro 2024, which Maguire is keen to participate in. However, with that window missed, Yorke believes a fresh injection of talent is necessary for United’s forward momentum.
Yorke also speculated on a potential destination for Maguire, identifying Chelsea as an ideal fit following Thiago Silva’s exit. “Maguire has shown that he is very capable of playing at the highest level still and elite clubs like Chelsea, who are trying to rebuild, might take a chance on Maguire. He can clearly still play at the level,” Yorke added.
He continued, “A fresh start might just give him that injection to really perform again for another year or two at that top level. So you never know. I played until I was 36 so I’m never going to write someone off if they’re still in their early 30s. He’s still got the attributes to do that. I think players do improve if the team is doing well and winning football matches, football becomes very easy to play. Football is only difficult when things are not going particularly well.”
Yorke also mentioned the importance of bringing new faces to the squad to keep the team’s performance on an upward trajectory.
However, according to Liverpool.com, Manchester United might struggle to obtain a substantial transfer fee for Maguire this summer, given his contract situation. With Raphael Varane already leaving this transfer window, retaining Maguire for one final season could be a more practical option.
For more details on this developing story, read the full article on Liverpool.com.
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