Maguire costing Man Utd in more ways than one

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 16 Jul 2023 08:51 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are struggling to shift Harry Maguire this summer, and it has already cost them two potential replacements for the luckless England man.

United need to sell players before they buy any more, with Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Zion Suzuki on course to account for the majority of the £120 million transfer budget they had this summer due to FFP.

Maguire's £80m move from Leicester in 2019 remains a world record fee for a centre-back, and whilst United only want around half that, there are so far no takers. Clubs from Inter Milan to Aston Villa have been linked, but no bids have arrived.

READ: Sancho not for sale? England winger surprise omission from Man Utd transfer list

A report last season highlighted that Maguire had the most errors leading to goals conceded in the Premier League in the two prior campaigns (17), making it little wonder Erik ten Hag installed Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane as his first-choice central defence last term.

But the Dutchman wants more cover for that pair, especially with injury concerns hovering over both, and Kim Min-jae of Napoli and Monaco's Axel Disasi were at the top of his shortlist to provide it. But both now look set for other moves.

Kim to Bayern

"We want to replace [PSG-bound] Lucas Hernandez and it's not a big secret who that should be," Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel said of Kim recently, with the South Korean about to complete a €50m transfer.

READ: REVEALED: How Bayern will spend €150m summer budget

And now an update from Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg suggests that United will miss out on Disasi too, with Newcastle ready to swoop.

"Understand, Newcastle are pushing a lot for Axel Disasi!" he posted on Twitter. "Concrete talks between Newcastle and Monaco took place and are ongoing.

"Man Utd are also exploring a deal but have to sell players first (Maguire). Newcastle are in the lead at this stage. Monaco are waiting for concrete offers."

Man Utd need a Maguire upgrade, and they need to sell Maguire - and quick - in order to fund it.