As per Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic, West Ham have reached an agreement with Manchester United to sign Harry Maguire.
After West Ham already saw a £20m bid rejected earlier this month, a deal has now been reached for a fee expected to be worth £30m, whilst personal terms between the player and the club are not expected to be an issue, and a deal is now nearing completion.
The 30-year-old initially want to stay at United, but the offer of regular game time proved influential in his decision, with his current England status in his mind as the 2024 European Championship approaches this summer.
The deal will see The Red Devils make a significant loss on the £80m they signed the centre-back for from Leicester City in 2019, and will come following a season in which he made just eight league starts, his lowest since his debut season in 2010, and was stripped of his captaincy by Erik ten Hag after falling out of favour in the Dutchman’s side.
The centre-back expressed he was “extremely disappointed” by this decision, but reiterated that he would still “continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt“, an opportunity which he may not receive if this deal is completed.
Despite his most recent season ending in disappointment, David Moyes’ side will hope the England international can regain the consistency he showed in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons- a period in which he missed just four Premier League matches.
West Ham’s move for Maguire would mark their first transfer of the summer so far, as they look to strengthen their squad and reinvest the club-record £105m fee they received for club captain Declan Rice, who has moved to London rivals Arsenal.
The Claret and Blues will hope this move can be completed before this Saturday 12 August, where they will begin their new campaign by hosting Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth at the London Stadium.
Travis Levison | Get Football
