Manchester United are supposedly prepared to make a loss of around £70m in order to offload out-of-favour defender Harry Maguire in the January transfer window.
Manchester United are supposedly prepared to make a loss of around £70m in order to offload out-of-favour defender Harry Maguire in the January transfer window.
The England international – who was an £80m acquisition from Leicester City five years ago – has largely failed to live up to his price tag at the Theatre of Dreams, where he was stripped of the armband upon Erik ten Hag‘s arrival.
Maguire momentarily played his way back into the starting lineup last season, but when all of Man United’s central defensive options are fully fit, he is nowhere near the top of the pecking order.
Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez have largely been favoured by Erik ten Hag in the 2024-25 campaign, and there is an expectation that Leny Yoro will leapfrog Maguire in the food chain when he is back from a foot injury.
The 31-year-old has still made nine appearances in all competitions this season – scoring one goal against Porto in the Europa League – but his contract runs out at the end of the season, albeit with the option of a further 12 months.
Man United ‘open to £10m bids’ for Maguire
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According to the Daily Star, the Red Devils are hopeful of cutting their losses on Maguire in the winter transfer window and would be prepared to accept as little as £10m to let him depart midway through the season.
The former Leicester man is said to have had a £30m price tag on his head in 2023, when he was strongly linked with a move to West Ham United, but Man United have accepted that they will have to lower their demands further this time around.
If no interested party makes an approach over the winter, though, Man United would be prepared to trigger his 12-month contract extension to avoid the possibility of their £80m leaving for nothing at the end of the season.
The Red Devils would then attempt to drum up interest in the Englishman during the summer transfer window, or failing that the January 2026 market, which would be their last chance to recoup a fee without another contract extension.
Maguire – who recently confirmed that he would be spending a few weeks recovering from a calf injury – has amassed 12 goals and eight assists in 215 competitive appearances for Man United, who could try to offload some other big names for reduced fees in 2025 too.
What other players could Man Utd make major losses on?
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Maguire’s situation is certainly not unique at Old Trafford, where new stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is embarking on a mission to overhaul the squad with burgeoning talent and rid the team of deadwood.
In addition to Maguire, another experienced player on the chopping block is Casemiro, the £59.2m midfielder from Real Madrid, whose struggles have continued this term after a forgettable 2023-24 season.
A switch to Saudi Arabia has long been mooted for the 32-year-old, who is still under contract for another two seasons with an option until 2027, and Man United have been tipped to cash in on Casemiro in January.
Fellow Brazilian Antony has also failed to live up to expectations since his £86m arrival from Ajax in the summer of 2022, and the Red Devils will surely look to cut their losses on the attacker too.
As well as the uncertain situations of some playing personnel, Man United boss Ten Hag’s future remains the subject of much debate, but he is expecting to remain in charge for next weekend’s Premier League clash with Brentford.