Man Utd set price tag for Tottenham, Aston Villa target after Ten Hag rocks player with brutal decision

Manchester United have reportedly laid out their demands for defender Harry Maguire, who is rumoured to be on the radars of Tottenham, Aston Villa and West Ham.

Maguire endured a disappointing season in 2022-23 as he fell down the pecking order under manager Erik ten Hag. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are Ten Hag’s first-choice centre-back pairing, with the coach also preferring to use Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw ahead of Maguire.

While Maguire made 31 appearances in all competitions last term, only 16 of those lasted a full 90 minutes.

The Englishman’s failure to hold down a starting spot has resulted in calls for Man Utd to change their captain.

And it seems Ten Hag has been listening to such demands. On Sunday, The Sun claimed Maguire will be stripped of the Man Utd captaincy this week. Ten Hag has not yet made a final decision on his successor in the role, although it is highly likely to be Bruno Fernandes.

Maguire will be distraught if Ten Hag goes through with such a brutal decision as it will show that the 30-year-old has reached a new low in his Man Utd career.

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The Manchester Evening News have now provided an update on Maguire’s situation. Following the captaincy reveal, they state that Man Utd have put Maguire’s price tag at the £50million mark.

A transfer at this price would see the Red Devils take a £30m hit on Maguire, having originally signed him for a stunning £80m in 2019. Maguire remains the most expensive defender of all time.

Harry Maguire may price himself out of move

Tottenham, Villa and West Ham are all thought to be interested in signing the 57-cap international, but only for the right price. Man Utd’s demands are likely to put off all three of their Prem rivals.

Another problem is Maguire’s salary. This has been increased after Man Utd qualified for next season’s Champions League, just like the rest of the squad.

Spurs, Villa and West Ham would have struggled to meet Maguire’s previous wage, but they will definitely not be able to match his new one. As the player does not want to take a big pay cut, he now faces the prospect of remaining at Old Trafford and simply warming the bench for another year.

If Maguire opts to do this, then he will almost certainly lose his starting place with England ahead of Euro 2024. Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate will not be able to justify starting a player who has not been a regular at club level for two seasons, even if he is a fan of Maguire.

Man Utd had been hoping to offload Maguire to help fund their pursuit of a new striker. But if they stick by their £50m asking price, then he will not be going anywhere.

Meanwhile, Monday’s Transfer Gossip includes a Man Utd midfielder changing agents to try and force through an exit.