Leicester City are set to lose Harry Maguire for an auspicious £50m bid from Manchester United. England have been knocked out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup thus allowing the Red Devils to contact the player himself to discuss personal terms. Jose Mourinho has been holding out for a defensive addition and the 25-year-old is currently one of the best options in the Premier League market.
Maguire was a leading figure in the heart of England’s defence all through to the semi-final stages of the international competition. He scored the crucial header against Sweden to help his country get in contention of earning the third spot.
Otherwise, the centre-back also played every single minute of Leicester’s 2017/18 Premier League campaign after finalising a move to the King Power Stadium last summer. Maguire helped the Foxes keep their place in the top half of the English top-flight and earn a starting spot in Gareth Southgate’s squad, beating out the likes of more experienced players such as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.
However, losing Maguire could leave the Foxes in a very difficult spot ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. Claude Puel cannot solely rely on Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans and Yohan Benalouane to carry through an entire season, especially if the Leicester plan on challenging for one of the European qualification spots.
Here are a few candidates he should consider as a possible Maguire replacement.
Alfie Mawson
Swansea City too have dropped down to the Championship and have been bombarded with offers for their defensive ace. Mawson who was called up to the England national team for the warm-up games ahead of the World Cup is their best centre-back with an inspirational story similar to that of Maguire.
He started out with Brentford in the League One before fighting his way to top-flight football.
Ahmed Hegazi
The Egyptian is worth around £10m according to West Brom and has impressed aplenty with his exploits for the Baggies during the course of the last campaign. He is still only 27 and a regular for the Egypt national team. He took over Evans’ starting spot in the Albion squad to charge ahead for a late battle for Premier League survival.
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Toby Alderweireld
Might be a far-fetched dream but the Belgian is also a target of Manchester United for this summer window. Should the Red Devils sign Maguire for such a massive deal, the path towards Alderweireld’s transfer will be left wide open for Leicester?
