Manchester United willing to pay £80m for Harry Maguire

The England international has been on the radar of the Red Devils as they look to bolster their squad ahead of the new season.

Manchester United are willing to pay £80m for Leicester City man Harry Maguire that would make him the most expensive defender of all-time, eclipsing Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool. The Foxes centre-back was United’s #1 target in the summer and has conveyed that he wishes to leave before the transfer window shuts on 8th August.

Maguire, who idolizes ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand is keen to follow in his footsteps and wants to be part of the newlook side under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. However, Sky Sports News are reporting that Leicester are unwilling to sell for less than £90M and are under no pressure to do business.

The defender had a stellar season for the Foxes in their rather disappointing campaign which saw them finishing ninth in the points table. He was also part of Gareth Southgate's side that secured third place in the UEFA Nations League.

Speaking to BBC Leicester, club boss Brendan Rodgers said, “ I’m relaxed with it. It is what it is. The player has been first class with his attitude in his training.”

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He further added, “‘The club hasn’t changed its stance in terms of the valuation for the player.” He also praised the board by saying, “‘As of this day, the valuation for Harry hasn’t been met that would trigger any communication with the player and the other club. For me, John Rudkin [director of football] and Susan Whelan [chief executive] are doing a great job in relation to that. There’s no change.”

United Vice-chairman Ed Woodward didn’t travel with the squad on their Asian pre-season tour to work on transfers. The Red Devils have signed Aaron-Wan Bissaka from Crystal Palace and Daniel James from Championship side Swansea City so far this summer. The club are also working to bring in Paulo Dybala from Juventus in a swap deal with Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. Negotiations are also ongoing with Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon regarding the transfer of Bruno Fernandes.