West Ham United have reportedly failed in their attempts to sign Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, with a potential switch to the London Stadium ‘falling through’.
The Hammers recently came to an agreement over a £30m deal for the England international, and it had been thought that a move to the capital giants would go through before the end of last week.
However, there have been widespread reports detailing potential issues over personal terms, while Maguire had allegedly been looking for a substantial pay-off to leave Old Trafford.
According to Sky Sports News, the former Sheffield United youngster will now not be moving to West Ham before the summer transfer window closes for business.
The report claims that an exit for the 30-year-old at this stage would have left Man United with little time to sign a replacement, meaning that they are happy to keep hold of him.
Red Devils Erik ten Hag has said on three separate occasions over the last few weeks that he is planning to keep hold of Maguire for the 2023-24 campaign.
The defender is said to be ‘settled’ at Old Trafford and is confident that he will make plenty of appearances for the club this season despite the fact that he is only their fourth-choice centre-back.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez started as the centre-back pairing against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night, before Victor Lindelof entered at the break due to an injury to the latter.
Maguire was not even guaranteed a starting role last season when Varane and Martinez were both injured, with Luke Shaw being selected alongside Lindelof in the middle of the defence when that occurred.
The Englishman only started eight Premier League matches last season, and it is difficult to see him being given many opportunities to play from the first whistle in the league in 2023-24.
The majority of Maguire’s starts could therefore come in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, but a lack of regular action will harm his chances of starting for England at Euro 2024.
Aston Villa have also been linked with the defender in recent days, although it appears that Man United are no longer willing to let him leave this close to the end of the market.
Maguire, who had the captaincy taken away from him this summer, has another two years left to run on his contract with the 20-time English champions, while there is the option to extend the deal for a further 12 months.
Man United will be bidding to make it successive wins at the start of the new Premier League season when they head to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.
