Roland Cutinho
West Ham United manager David Moyes confirms Manchester United accepted bid for centre-back Harry Maguire
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, West Ham United manager David Moyes has confirmed that the Hammers have agreed to sign Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire.
The East London club’s initial bid of £20 million was turned down by United, who were seeking a higher fee.
Nevertheless, they have met on common grounds, and news emerged on Wednesday that West Ham’s improved offer of around £30m for Maguire has been approved by Man United.
Discussions are ongoing regarding contractual details, and the 30-year-old player is thought to be open to moving to the London Stadium.
It has also been stated that the Red Devils agreed to a £6m payment for the English star to depart from Old Trafford and join his new club. In his move to West Ham, the defender’s earnings are expected to decrease from £190,000 per week to £120,000 per week.
Moyes targeted the United centre-back in order to upgrade his defensive options, and the manager has revealed that his club’s bid has been accepted by the Red Devils.
During a press briefing on Friday prior to West Ham’s Premier League match against Bournemouth on Saturday, Moyes stated:
“We’ve had a bid accepted from Manchester United, but while he’s not our player, I’m not in a position to discuss him.”
The highly anticipated transfer is not expected to be completed quickly, given that Erik ten Hag has talked about the defender’s availability for the upcoming Monday’s Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at their home ground.
Maguire had only begun eight Premier League matches for his parent club in the previous season, and due to losing his regular starting position under Ten Hag, it was expected that he would depart anytime soon.
The centre-back, who was deprived of the United captaincy earlier this summer, would need to secure consistent playing time at West Ham to solidify his position in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.
Joining the Hammers would unquestionably provide Maguire with more opportunities on the field during the upcoming season.
The experienced defender’s role has drastically reduced under Ten Hag’s leadership, and although the club isn’t forcefully pushing him out, it’s evident that at Old Trafford, he would likely remain the fifth-choice central defender.
The primary defensive duo of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez will continue to dominate the field, while Victor Lindelof and left-back Luke Shaw are the other suitable options on the bench.
Hence, moving away from Old Trafford made sense at this point.
It is difficult to see the transfer collapse, and we expect this deal to be completed smoothly. Maguire will be getting another chance to establish himself in the starting XI and make a name for himself.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils would be planning to utilise the transfer funds in the best possible way. The fans are able to witness some really interesting outgoings this summer.
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The team is slowly but steadily getting a completely new look before heading into a fresh new Premier League season.
