Defender Harry Maguire, who rejected a move to West Ham because his current club would have to pay a compensation fee for him to leave, could be in for a big story.
It has been suggested that the defender, who was thought to be completely absent from United boss Louis van Gaal’s plans, could start against Tottenham on Tuesday. Injuries to key defenders have created an urgent need for Maguire.
Maguire has already been used in practice matches to keep the youngsters fit. On Sept. 16, the Manchester Evening News reported that United played Everton behind closed doors at their Carrington training center and won 2-0. One goal was scored by Scott McTominay and the other was an Everton own goal.
Notably, the game also featured Maguire, who has been stubbornly refusing a move to West Ham in recent days.
“Anthony Martial made his first appearance in 79 days,” the paper said, adding that Maguire, Donny van der Beek, Hannibal Mebry and Daniel Gore also played. Gore is an 18-year-old youngster with a promising future, so it’s likely that manager Eric Dier was using the game as a way to test him for first-team action.
However, McTominay, Maguire, and van der Beek were actually sold this summer, so it’s possible that Turnbach was keeping them fit to sell them to other teams rather than using them for future use. In Maguire’s case, he was playing in a training match while the club were still in a tug-of-war over his compensation.
In the meantime, West Ham have given up on Maguire and have turned their attention to other players. “Tired of waiting, West Ham have turned off the clock on Harry Maguire,” The Guardian reported the same day.
Maguire, a 6-foot-2, 194-pound defender, was once a center back that United had high hopes for. In 2019, the Red Devils spent a whopping £80 million to bring him in from Leicester City, setting a new transfer record for a defender.
However, Maguire made an increasing number of mistakes on the field since his arrival and was eventually pushed out of the starting lineup by Eric Dier, who has been in charge of the club since last season. Turnbach has stuck with his established defenders, France international Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, whom he brought in from Ajax in the Netherlands, and has used backup defender Viktor Lindelof or moved left-back Luke Shaw to the center of the field when they have been injured.
Maguire was eventually stripped of the captaincy ahead of the season and did not feature in the opening game. He was named in the squad for United’s season opener against Wolverhampton on Sept. 15, but missed out. 토토사이트
Mourinho had a problem with Martinez’s ankle tendon in the first half, so he replaced him at the start of the second half and it was Lindelof who entered the field.
With Maguire relegated to the back of the pecking order as a center-back option, West Ham made a move. West Ham lost team captain Declan Rice to Arsenal this summer.