Harry Maguire’s Manchester United future has looked uncertain since Erik ten Hag arrived as manager, and now a social media sleuth has found ‘evidence’ of his imminent departure…
Maguire joined United from Leicester for £80 million (€87m) in August 2019 – a world record fee for a central defender – and was made captain of the club by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the following January.
But he has fallen behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane under Erik ten Hag, and left-back Luke Shaw has even had a run-out at centre-back of late with Maguire watching on from the bench.
READ: Ten Hag deals Maguire fresh blow with Shaw praise
Ferdinand: ‘If I’m Harry Maguire…’
“If I’m Harry Maguire, I’m looking for a new club right now,” former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport. “He’s faultless for England. At Man United, it hasn’t worked out for him.
“This new manager is showing him he’s not going to be one of the top two centre backs. I’d be telling my agent to go and find me a new club where I can play regularly and enjoy my football.”
Harry Maguire spotted with his agent at a restaurant right by the Villa training complex today. pic.twitter.com/SkJtQ4eW8F
— Frank 🧠🇳🇱 (@TenHagEra) January 7, 2023
And it now seems Maguire has done just that, with Twitter user Frank @TenHagEra, a self-confessed United fan, posting some compelling evidence on the platform.
READ: Man Utd’s ‘Ronaldo rule’ to limit salaries
“Harry Maguire spotted with his agent at a restaurant right by the Villa training complex today,” he wrote, accompanied by a picture of the player at the venue which is a five-minute drive from where the club train.
United are unlikely to get anything like the €87m they paid for Maguire, but his performances for England at the recent World Cup in Qatar means his value is still rated at €33.6m per Football Transfers’ in-house algorithm.
Villa are 11th in the Premier League this season, six places and 13 points behind United, but they remain able to attract top names, with Philippe Coutinho joining them on a permanent basis from Barcelona for €20m just last summer.