Leicester City defender Harry Maguire is attracting attention from Manchester United and Manchester City with the two rivals ready to go head to head in pursuit of the 24-year-old’s signature next summer. According to recent reports in the English media, the Red Devils will clash heads with the Citizens to secure a transfer for the English defender’s services at the end of the season.
The Sheffield born star has put in some strong performances for the Foxes during this campaign. He has settled in Claude Puel’s starting eleven well and has caught the eye with some solid displays which have made him break into Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup which kicks off later this year.
It is being reported that the West Midlands outfit values him at around £50m with the Manchester clubs monitoring his progress at the King Power Stadium. City has recently signed Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte during the January transfer window but could make further additions to their defence in the summer to try and maintain their dominance at the top tier of English football.
United, on the other hand, has acquired the services of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal last month and might look to strengthen other areas of their squad which could include adding a few defensive options next summer to try and bridge the gap between themselves and their crosstown rivals City in the coming years.
Manchester City currently boasts the likes of John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and new recruit, Aymeric Laporte in their matchday squad while club captain Vincent Kompany has struggled with his fitness this season. They could definitely utilise a young, promising defender in their squad going into the future in their quest to maintain their dominance in English football. However, if they can seal a move for the 24-year-old, the competition would be fierce at the Etihad Stadium with Maguire not guaranteed regular first-team football.
In contrast, Manchester United’s backline consists of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailey. Unless they ship out a few of their existing defenders in the off-season, it’s highly unlikely that Mourinho will splash the cash to bring another centre-back next summer. Having said that, the potential acquisition of Maguire is likely to add some quality to their backline as they look to compete in the title race next season. The 24-year-old has featured in 31 matches for the Foxes this term, scoring two goals and providing three assists in all competitions. It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of the English centre-back and whether he ends up plying his trade in Manchester next summer.
