Looking to raise their summer funds, Manchester United are reportedly ready to listen to offers to sell one of Erik ten Hag’s star players in the coming months amid new interest in his services.
Man Utd transfer news
The Red Devils are yet to secure their first arrival of the summer, but reports suggest that the likes of Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt could be on the cards. The latter has reportedly given a green light to the move and Manchester United are now in pole position to sign the Bayern Munich ace, who would undoubtedly improve their backline.
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The impressive full-back could be a game-changer for United.
The Dutchman is currently away on international duty with the Netherlands as they hope to go all the way at Euro 2024. Once the tournament is over in Germany, however, De Ligt could be set to step into the Premier League and replace Raphael Varane in Ten Hag’s defence.
The former Real Madrid star left as a free agent at the end of last season following a mixed spell at Old Trafford, but he might not be the only defender who needs replacing this summer.
According to TalkSport, Manchester United are now ready to listen to offers for Harry Maguire this summer just one year since his move to West Ham United failed to materialise. A lot has happened in a year for the defender who earns a reported £190k-a-week, however.
Maguire has gone from almost certain for the exit door to a player who battled back well to earn a place in Ten Hag’s plans once again. Alas, last season’s resurgence doesn’t seem to have been enough, with United ready to cash in amid reported interest from the Serie A.
Of course, the Red Devils can end any hope of making any money back from their hefty £80m investment to sign Maguire back in 2019, but they may at least be in a position to use his potential exit towards increasing their current budget.
Selling “massive” Maguire is a mistake at this stage
With Lisandro Martinez’s recent history far from reliable and Varane already out the door, Manchester United simply cannot afford to lose a resurgent Maguire at this stage. Even with De Ligt possibly on the way, Ten Hag lacks enough depth at the heart of his defence to avoid the catastrophe of dropping the likes of Casemiro into his backline for the second consecutive season.
The Dutchman could yet find a place for the England international next season, having been full of praise for Maguire at the start of the last campaign. Ten Hag said via Sports Mole: “[Maguire] was playing a massive, massive game. A very good performance. He showed leadership and in and out of possession he was very good, so I’m very pleased with that performance from Harry.”
With that said, Maguire will be an interesting one to watch this summer, with his return to form seemingly not enough to add security to his role at Old Trafford next season
