Leicester make shock Maguire call; Man Utd told ‘magic figure’

Matt Stead

Leicester have surprisingly omitted Harry Maguire from their squad to face Atalanta in the club’s final game of pre-season.

Maguire has been the subject of interest from Manchester United throughout the summer, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side reported to have made at least one bid ranging from £60m to £70m for the centre-half.

The England international is open to the move but has remained professional throughout pre-season, his attitude praised as ‘excellent’.

But the speculation appears to have affected Maguire after a mutual decision was made by both him and manager Brendan Rodgers to sit out the Atalanta game.

It is said that ‘the continuing uncertainty’ surrounding his future has left the player ‘not in the right frame of mind’ to feature.

The Foxes believe it to be ‘the best solution for both parties’ as it allows Rodgers to experiment with Caglar Soyuncu at centre-half in case Maguire is either sold or otherwise unavailable to face Wolves next Sunday.

Maguire still ‘fears he may be priced out of a move’, with Sky Sports suggesting that £80m is “the magic figure” – as everyone else has been reporting all summer.

Rob Dorsett says Leicester “are really relaxed” about the situation, adding that “I’ve always been told throughout this process that £80m was the magic figure for Leicester to do business. It seems as though United are prepared to go there so this could happen quite quickly.”

The Telegraph state that it will take £85m, plus a potential £5m in add-ons, to secure the deal, and that United’s most recent offer was £70m, made last month.