Ferdinand makes astonishing Harry Maguire claim as he ponders Ten Hag’s transfer tactics
Rio Ferdinand has made a bold call relating to Harry Maguire as the future of the Manchester United defender is still up in the air.
After his move to West Ham collapsed, Maguire finds himself in an awkward position at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag is seemingly keen to add another defensive option to his ranks this summer, but those plans have been scuppered by Maguire sticking around.
Jonny Evans has been training with the first team since leaving Leicester City at the end of last season.
The 35-year-old could still be offered a contract and Ferdinand thinks that Evans would be ahead of Maguire in the pecking order in that case.
“If Jonny Evans signs he [Maguire] is behind Jonny Evans I reckon,” Ferdinand explained on Vibe with FIVE.
Evans did miss the majority of last season with a calf injury and ultimately only featured in 13 league matches as Leicester were relegated.
The defender would bring a wealth of experience to the Man Utd backline though, but time will tell if he is indeed ahead of Maguire in the pecking order.
Ten Hag has claimed that he is “happy” that Maguire in still at the club, but Ferdinand believes this is a tactic from Ten Hag to preserve Maguire’s transfer value.
“You might get something different [out of him] when the transfer window closes, I think you’d get a different response then, but he can’t afford that to happen,” Ferdinand explained.
“If you’re the buying club, and the manager you’re trying to buy off goes, ‘I just need him out of here asap, if we don’t sell him we can’t go and buy target one and two over there’ then the buying club go, ‘Well now we know they’re desperate to sell, let’s low-ball them, if he’s worth £30m we’ll offer £15m and they have to take it surely’.”
Maguire is under contract at Old Trafford until the summer of 2025, with the option of a further year in his deal.
Time will tell if he does make a move this summer, but for the time being he seems happy enough to stick around.
Sam Allardyce has claimed that the England international could be holding out for a bigger move.
“Manchester United. He turned West Ham down, he’s turned it down. I know his agent really well,” Allardyce said via the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“I think – and this is no disrespect to West Ham, because I managed them – he feels that with the troubles they had last season down the bottom of the league, he doesn’t want to be going there, he wants something bigger.”
