Leicester City's Harry Maguire

City and United set for £80m battle for Maguire

Manchester rivals, City and United, are set for a summer transfer battle for England international Harry Maguire according to reports.

Reports linking Maguire with a move to Manchester are nothing new, with the Leicester City centre-back being linked with a move to Manchester United 12 months ago back when Jose Mourinho was in the Old Trafford hot seat.

The 26-year-old was wanted by the Portuguese boss, only for United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to decide that the club didn’t need defensive reinforcements, a decision that came back to bite the Red Devils on the backside after a campaign in which they conceded a record 54 goals.

Meanwhile, with Vincent Kompany having ended his legendary stay at the Etihad stadium, Manchester City have reportedly identified Harry Maguire as a prime target as a replacement.

City broke their club record last summer to sign Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez, and according to Sky Sports, they will have to stump up another club record if they want to sign Maguire.

Sky report that while the Foxes ‘do not want to sell him,’ they would be prepared to do business if they receive a bid of £80 million, a fee which would represent a world record price for a defender, eclipsing the £75 million that Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.

A recent report in the Daily Mail claimed that Maguire would prefer a move to join the Premier League champions, which is somewhat understandable considering United’s lack of Champions League football next season.

QUIZ: Can you name the 30 biggest transfers in football history?