Harry Maguire’s aborted move to West Ham from Manchester United has raised eyebrows but former Premier League ace Danny Murphy can understand the England international for staying put.
Was the decision Harry Maguire’s, or Erik ten Hag? Or, perhaps, a bit of both?
According to Fabrizio Romano, having spoken to a ‘source’ close to Manchester United’s much-maligned centre-half, Maguire always preferred to stay at Old Trafford and fight for his place, in the belief that opportunities to jump-start a stalling career will come his way.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein, meanwhile, believe that Man United also had reservations about green-lighting Maguire’s sale, even after accepting a £30 million bid from West Ham. With only two weeks left in the window – and with United and Bayern Munich £20 million apart in discussions over Benjamin Pavard – the Red Devils had reservations about their ability to bring in a high-quality replacement for a reasonable fee.
Reports from The Sun suggesting that Maguire would have to accept a £70,000-a-week pay cut at West Ham, meanwhile, complicated matters further.
Harry Maguire’s West Ham move is off
“Not really. (The collapse of the move) doesn’t baffle me at all,” former England, Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy tells talkSPORT (16 August, 12pm).
“If he was due to lose however much in the deal, is he supposed to give up 5 or 6 million quid (in wages)? What’ the carrot the end of it? To play at West Ham every week?
“I know they are in the Europa League this season but they would have to do really well to get there again. So he maybe thought ‘I’ll take a gamble and I will stay’.
“Its always a balance. There’s your footballing head and then your financial head.”
The fact remains, however, that Maguire’s rather brazen self-confidence feels more than a little misplaced.
Booed by sections of his own ‘supporters’ after making another goal-costing mistake against Athletic Bilbao in pre-season – and after being stripped of the captain’s armband by Ten Hag – Maguire finds himself behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and even Luke Shaw in the Manchester United pecking order.
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