Man Utd defender Maguire ‘wants to emulate Bryan Robson’ as Ratcliffe ‘rebuffs Premier League approaches’
Manchester United have reportedly turned down the chance to sell Harry Maguire this summer and instead want him to sign a new contract.
Maguire has been a much-maligned figure at Old Trafford since his £80million move from Leicester City in 2019.
He became the most expensive defender in the world at the time – a title he still holds – with Manchester City’s £77m signing of Josko Gvardiol two years ago the closest contender.
Maguire has made 246 appearances for United over the last six years, winning the Carabao Cup as club captain in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
He wore the armband from 2019 to 2023, having been handed the role by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before Erik ten Hag passed it on to Bruno Fernandes in July 2023.
The 32-year-old’s performances have often been heavily scrutinised, and United have looked to move him on in recent transfer windows. However, new(ish) co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and head coach Ruben Amorim clearly rate him highly.
MORE ON MAN UTD ON F365
👉 Transfer rumour ranking: Man Utd make Sesko bid as Newcastle braced for another disaster
👉 Man Utd: Amorim to ‘expose’ Red Devils stars with new ‘roll-out’ amid clear warning to ‘lazy’ players
👉 Amorim to blame for Sesko wait but good reason emerges amid bizarre Man Utd transfer strategy
According to the Daily Mail, they are both such big fans that United want to give Maguire a new contract so he can ‘see out his career at Old Trafford’.
This decision has been made despite strong interest in the defender, the report from Mike Keegan says.
Indeed, the Premier League giants – who have signed four first-team players so far this summer – have ‘rebuffed approaches from clubs in England and abroad’.
There are ‘a number of interested parties’, with three Premier League sides and two from Italy ‘exploring a move’ for Maguire, only to be ‘turned away’.
The interested clubs have been informed that ‘the likelihood is that the England defender is likely to extend his contract – and spend the rest of his career at Old Trafford’.
Maguire’s £190,000-a-week contract expires at the end of 2025/26, but the player ‘is keen to stay’ as he ‘desires emulating the likes of Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson as key United mainstays’.
There have been no talks over an extension yet, but United are sending out the message that they want to keep him.
If no agreement can be reached, Maguire ‘is unlikely to be short of options’ and is ‘aware of the stunning season former team-mate Scott McTominay’ at Napoli. Presumably because he doesn’t live under a rock.
The Turkish big three, Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, are among Maguire’s ‘admirers’, while French clubs AS Monaco and Marseille ‘are monitoring the situation’. Besiktas and Fenerbahce are both managed by ex-United bosses Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, respectively.
There’s no mention of the proposed new deal including a wage cut or performance-related incentives, and any extension appears to be nowhere near agreed.
As Maguire’s contract enters its final year, clubs abroad can begin negotiating a pre-contract agreement from January 1, assuming he doesn’t commit to new terms before then.
READ NEXT: ‘Selling club’ is not a slur and teams shouldn’t fear it – Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City don’t
