West Ham United transfer verdict shared amid ‘collapsed’ Harry Maguire development
West Ham are utilising a “tactical manoeuvre” to try and bring Manchester United defender Harry Maguire to the club, according to The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson.
The journalist shared that belief upon the news that the player’s move to the London Stadium has “collapsed” after the Hammers “grew tired of waiting” for him [Jacob Steinberg, 15 August].
West Ham believe they have a full agreement with the Red Devils on a fee, with personal terms not expected to be a problem [Sky Sports, 15 August].
“My reading of this is that it is sort of a tactical manoeuvre,” Jackson said on the Transfer Gossip Daily podcast. “I don’t think West Ham have got this far down the road with it to actually want to pull out of it.
“But what’s holding it up is Maguire’s sort of shortfall between what he is starting to earn at Manchester United now they are back in the Champions League and what he would be getting at West Ham.
“It is dragging on a bit, and the reason why I say it is a tactical manoeuvre is because we have had the first round of Premier League games. There are just over two weeks left of the transfer window. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen.”
Lengthy saga
This isn’t, of course, the first lengthy transfer saga that West Ham have been involved in this summer, with their former player Declan Rice constantly hitting the headlines about where he would be off to at the end of the season.
The midfield maestro has ended up at Arsenal, with the transfer talk now moving on to his England teammate Maguire.
The centre-back unsurprisingly watched on from the bench as Manchester United began their new Premier League with a 1-0 win against Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday (14 August).
Red Devils manager Erik Ten Hag opted to bring Victor Lindelof on at half-time ahead of Maguire, with the manager utilising left-back Luke Shaw in centre-back ahead of the England international at times last season.
It definitely makes sense for the 30-year-old to leave Old Trafford before the current transfer window closes, but West Ham are running out of time to secure his signature.
In other West Ham news, a BBC pundit was wowed by one Hammers ace in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday (12 August).