Harry Maguire is discussing a new contract with Manchester United that would commit him to at least a seventh and eighth season at the club.
The 31-year-old’s terms expire in June, with United holding an option for a further 12 months. If the centre-back agrees a new deal it would represent a remarkable turnaround after he lost the captaincy when Erik ten Hag was the manager and he nearly joined West Ham in summer 2023.
Maguire confirmed talks were still taking place. “All the signs are positive at the moment and the chat that I’m having is really positive,” he said. “I’ve still got this year to go with an option in their hands.”
The defender, who joined United in the summer of 2019 for £80m, impressed in Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Manchester City, playing all of the derby as one of the centre-backs in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation.
“It’s been a difficult start to the season for us and not much for our fans to cheer about, so today’s for them,” Maguire said. “I’m sure they’ll be celebrating. I was injured when he [Amorim] first joined, so they’re looking after my minutes – I haven’t been able to play back-to-back games yet. Hopefully with 90 minutes under my belt for the first time in two, three months [I can].”
Maguire is familiar with the three centre-back system, particularly from England under Gareth Southgate. “I’ve played in it numerous times in my career – generally on the left but obviously playing in the middle at the moment,” he said. “It feels good, we feel solid. There’s still much more improvement we need to do.”
City led through Josko Gvardiol’s 36th-minute header but Matheus Nunes conceded an 88th-minute penalty, which was won by Amad Diallo and converted by Bruno Fernandes. Diallo scored a fine winner just before the end of regulation time.
Maguire said: “I thought the game was a 50-50 game. Could have gone either way. It was a great performance in the end to come here and have 50-50 of the ball, have the same amount of shots as them. It’s not been like that in recent years, so it’s an improvement but still a long way to go.”
Of Diallo he said: “He’s done really well this season. He’s only still a young boy [22] and has a lot to learn. I’m sure he’ll get loads of experience playing in these big matches, and I’m sure he’s got a big future for this club.”
