Manchester United have been urged to offload Harry Maguire this summer amid reports he could be available, with a sensational switch to Chelsea posited.
Erik ten Hag‘s side have already spent £88m this summer on the additions of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro.
The big-money spending might not be over yet, with the likes of Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui linked with moves to Old Trafford.
And the Red Devils are reported to be willing to say goodbye to as many as seven players to help raise funds for their future purchases. According to ESPN, Maguire is among them and United legend Dwight Yorke believes the club should be ‘ruthless’ in letting him go.
‘Harry Maguire could sit out the last year of his contract and know he’s going to play at some point due to injuries, but United really need to be ruthless and get rid of him.’ He told Premier League Betting.
Harry Maguire has been touted for a shock move to Man United’s Premier League rivals
Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has urged the club to be ‘ruthless’ and sell Magiure
The club has bolstered their defence with the big-money signing of centre-back Leny Yoro
‘They have Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and maybe Leny Yoro, but Harry Maguire is in the position that he doesn’t have to go anywhere if he doesn’t want to.
‘The opportunity has passed to get rid of him because he so desperately wanted to be at Euro 2024 and he would have done anything to play.
‘That was the time to move him so he could get regular football. So that opportunity passed and he’s still there.’
In addition to Maguire, Scott McTominay, Antony and Jadon Sancho would reportedly be available if their valuations are met. Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Christian Eriksen all have one year left on their contracts, so are also potentially on the chopping block.
The centre-back joined United from Leicester in 2019 and was appointed club captain by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in January 2020. But Erik ten Hag elected to take the armband away from him.
Stripped of the captaincy, booed by his own fans and touted to West Ham in the summer, he looked certain to end his spell at Old Trafford having been reduced to a bit-part player by Ten Hag.
However, the England international – who missed Euro 2024 due to injury – kept his counsel and as a result re-emerged as a key figure towards the end of the last campaign.
It is no longer a case of whether Maguire plays but of who plays next to him.
Speaking about his return to form Maguire previously said: ‘I was willing to stay and fight for my place.
‘I am really enjoying my football and I really enjoy playing for this club. I played a few games last year and I felt like I performed really well. I just didn’t play as many as I would have liked.
Maguire has recovered from a slump that saw him stripped of the United captaincy8 by Erik ten Hag
Yorke believes that Maguire can fill the void at Stamford Bridge left by veteran Thiago Silva
‘I had to bide my time and be patient but I broke down with illness and injuries twice, so I never got the rhythm and run of games that I could prove myself to the manager. I’ve got that now.’
Despite the revival, Yorke maintains that the defender should be cut loose and he even floated a surprising destination should his old club choose to heed his advice.
‘Maguire has shown that he is very capable of playing at the highest level still and elite clubs like Chelsea, who are trying to rebuild, might take a chance on Maguire.
‘He can clearly still play at the level and a fresh start might just give him that injection to really perform again for another year or two at that top level. So you never know.’
