West Ham United pressure Harry Maguire over Manchester United exit, deal not yet dead in ‘brinkmanship’ verdict – Alex Crook
Harry Maguire’s move to West Ham is in “jeopardy” but may not be dead yet as the club engage in “brinkmanship” to potentially force a breakthrough, according to Alex Crook.
The talkSPORT reporter said live on the station Tuesday morning (15 August) that he felt news of the deal being off was an attempt to “put pressure on” the former Manchester United captain, after the club had previously claimed to have “pulled out” of a move for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse before returning to seal a deal.
The £30million move for the England international centre-back reportedly collapsed Tuesday with the Hammers growing impatient over delays after a bid was accepted, and are now considering other options.
Crook said: “I think it’s in jeopardy this morning, we can say that. We know that West Ham are growing a little bit impatient at being made to wait by Harry Maguire to see if he’s going to accept this big-money move…
“I think there’s a bit of brinkmanship going here. We have to remember that West Ham told us that they’d pulled out of the running for James Ward-Prowse when their second offer was rejected only to return with a third.
“I think this is an attempt to put pressure on Harry Maguire to make a decision.”
Now or never
Crook is probably right, but West Ham have had to do something to try to break the impasse because sitting back and hoping for the best is too much of a risk with so little time remaining.
Personal terms between the Irons and the 30-year-old are supposedly not the issue but rather the pay-off he is meant to receive from Old Trafford to account for the wage drop he will see at the London Stadium [Jacob Steinberg, 14 August].
West Ham are apparently already in talks over an alternative and will likely press ahead with that pursuit if they see no response from Maguire or the Red Devils.
But if they are successful in sparking a development at Old Trafford it is equally likely that the deal would be revived given David Moyes has clearly made the former Leicester City man his top choice.
Maguire’s exit from Manchester appears not to be set in stone but he would be taking a risk of his own by staying when he is thought to be around fourth choice for Erik ten Hag and probably needs to play to ensure his place in Gareth Southgate’s side for the Euros next summer.
The fact that £30m was previously accepted presumably means that cash would be preferred at Manchester United, so the Irons have done the only thing they can do and made the threat of the deal being off real from their end.
The only course of action now is to proceed as if the move isn’t happening while keeping the door ajar to reprise it if the conditions fall into place.
In other West Ham news, an exit-linked opening day starter has committed his future to the club by signing a new deal.