Tony Cottee claims Harry Maguire could be next West Ham United captain if he completes transfer
Tony Cottee has claimed Harry Maguire could be the next West Ham captain if he joins the club from Manchester United this summer.
The England international has been heavily linked to the Hammers after being stripped of the Red Devils armband by Erik ten Hag on 16 July.
Speaking on talkSport’s breakfast show on 26 July, Cottee said he believes the 30-year-old would be a “good signing” for the Irons and that he could take over Declan Rice as the club’s new skipper.
“Personally, I think Harry Maguire would be a good signing for us at centre-half,” said the Sky Sports pundit. “I think he would bring that sort of experience, he’s a good player.
“He’s lost his way a bit at United, but he could even come in and go straight in and be captain. We’re looking for a captain at West Ham.”
Huge claim
It’s a huge claim by Cottee to say Maguire could easily go into West Ham and take on the role of being the club’s captain, following in the footsteps of Rice and Mark Noble before him.
The centre-back would probably prefer to not have that pressure put on him after the torrid time he’s endured at Man United recently, where he was stripped of the captaincy on the back of some poor performances last season.
The likelihood is that he would rather go into his next club and go under the radar for a little bit while he tries to get back to his best before taking on such a big role within the team.
There is no doubt that in time it could be a subject that is revisited if he does sign for the Hammers and manages to find some form again, but it’s far too early to be making statements like that.
It also wouldn’t be a great message to the rest of the players that have been at the London Stadium for a number of years to be handing that honour to a new signing.
Being West Ham captain means something – it can’t just go to anyone.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have made a £43million bid for a defensive midfielder.