Manchester United will not allow Harry Maguire to leave the club in the January transfer window, amid interest from West Ham.
Maguire has slipped down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag, starting just four Premier League matches this season. He has started just two of United’s eight matches in all competitions since returning from the World Cup, with Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez preferred alongside Raphael Varane.
As revealed by Mirror Football, his lack of game time has prompted West Ham to consider a bid for the 29-year-old. The Hammers could lose Craig Dawson to Wolves and think Maguire would make a good replacement.
Their approach was swiftly rebuffed, according to BBC Sport, who say United did not even consider the possibility of letting their club captain leave this month. Ten Hag reportedly believes that Maguire still has an important role to play for the team, despite leaving him on the bench recently.
The Hammers signed Jesse Lingard on loan in January 2021 and saw the United fringe player score nine goals in 16 Premier League matches. West Ham paid Lingard’s wages in full and helped increase the value of their player through regular game time, though he ultimately still departed Old Trafford on a free transfer after United failed to sell him on.
United paid Leicester £80million for Maguire in the summer of 2019 and recent reports have suggested they will have to sell in order to fund Ten Hag’s summer transfer plans. A loan spell in east London could help prepare Maguire for a summer transfer away from Old Trafford – but United are not keen on the idea.
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As well as the Premier League, United are still involved in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League. Ten Hag wants a deep squad at his disposal in order to chart the best path through all four competitions.
Ten Hag started Varane and Martinez in United’s most recent game – the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night. In previous matches he has experimented with Shaw as a left-sided centre-back, with Tyrell Malacia coming in at left-back.
Maguire has played 90 minutes in the 3-0 wins over Bournemouth and Charlton this month, but his game time is not befitting of the club captaincy. In his absence, Bruno Fernandes has worn the captain’s armband.
Maguire recently revealed that he had been struggling with illness after returning from the World Cup. “I was unfortunate in terms of when I came back from the World Cup, I had a bad illness, to be honest, and it knocked me back for one or two weeks,” he told ESPN.
"I feel good now. We have a lot of good centre halves at this club, there’s a lot of competition for places and I’ll keep fighting."
United travel to Arsenal next on Sunday before the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
