Pranav Nair
Harry Maguire details the conversations he had with Jose Mourinho ahead of Manchester United switch
Speaking with Gary Neville on The Overlap’s Youtube channel, Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire has opened up on the conversations he had with Jose Mourinho before making the move to Old Trafford in 2019.
Then at Leicester City, Maguire was quickly establishing himself as one of the best defenders in England. He starred in England’s run to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, further enhancing his reputation.
This grabbed the attention of both Manchester clubs who were looking to strengthen their rearguard. Although Maguire moved to Old Trafford in 2019, the Red Devils had been in touch since a year before.
“It was Manchester United my heart was set on from the amount of interest that they’ve shown in me.”
Despite talking to Pep Guardiola, Maguire admits that he had his heart set on a move to United. Former manager Jose Mourinho was a fan of the player and played a key role in him moving to the Theatre of Dreams.
“I spoke to Jose before the semi-final of the World Cup so that gave me great confidence, what he’s won, the defenders that he’s worked with I have great respect for Jose and what he’s done for the game.”
Maguire revealed that Mourinho was keen to improve him as a player should they work together at United. While that may not have happened, it has done little to lower the respect the defender has for the Portuguese manager.
“He felt like he could improve my game a lot. I obviously didn’t get to work with him, but like I say I’ve great respect for him.”
The feeling of being wanted!
Maguire also attributed his decision to move to United, having grown up watching the stellar Red Devil teams of old. While City has had recent success, Untied are a team steeped in history.
“Old Trafford, being one of the biggest clubs in the world if not the biggest, so I always had my heart set on this club.”
It would appear Maguire’s heart was always set on moving to United. A chance to play for a team of our calibre does not come very often and the 28-year-old, to his credit, took the opportunity well.
More so, the English international appears to have been left impressed by the seriousness United showed in pursuing him. It appears to have been worth it as Maguire is today our best defender and nigh on undroppable when available.
“For them to pursue it over I think probably a 12-15 months period of time just shows how much they believed in me and how much they felt like I would be a, a big part of the team.”
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Maguire’s move to United has so far worked out well for both the club and player. We have now got ourselves a leader at the back while the player hasn’t just been the armband but has also seen his reputation soar.
Hopefully, better things are around the corner starting with the Europa League final later this week. Unfortunately for Maguire, he faces a race against time to be fit for the showpiece event.
