harry maguire

Man Utd to challenge City to sign central defender

Manchester United have joined Manchester City in the race to sign Leicester City defender, Harry Maguire according to reports this morning.

The 24-year-old only moved to Leicester last summer, moving from relegated Hull City in a £17m transfer on a five-year deal that runs until 2022. However, a string of impressive performances for the Foxes have seen him break into the England squad have seen that transfer valuation almost treble, with the 2016 title winners now valuing him around £50m.

Maguire made his England debut against Lithuania in October is expected to be part of Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Manchester City have been linked with having an interest in the Englishman in recent months, although the Blues have just smashed their club record transfer record to bring in fellow central defender Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57m. With John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi already at the club, its hard to see where he may now fit in.

Now, The Mirror believes that Jose Mourinho is looking to steal a march on Guardiola once again to land Maguire’s signature having also been impressed with his performances.

Mourinho has already confirmed that he is not looking to make additions to his attacking lineup following the arrival of Alexis Sanchez in January, but is known to be on the look out for midfielders and defenders, with a number of players set to be shown the door in the summer.

However, Leicester have already proved that they are will not be easy to deal with in the transfer market and capable of hanging onto their stars, after they refused to let Riyad Mahrez move to Manchester City last month, despite an offer of £65m reportedly being on the table.

The reports does however claim that Leicester are already looking at potential replacements, including Brighton’s Lewis Dunk, indicating a deal could be possible.