Ian Ladyman: No champagne and roses for West Ham United-bound Harry Maguire as wage update emerges
Harry Maguire is smart to leave Manchester United but it is not yet clear whether West Ham is the right destination, according to Ian Ladyman.
As reported online by The Sun (10 August), the Red Devils have accepted a £30million bid for the 30-year-old defender who is expected to receive a pay-off from his current employers as he takes a wage cut to move to the London Stadium.
And Ladyman has expressed his view, writing in the Daily Mail’s print edition (11 August, page 75) that the England international could find the move to play under David Moyes difficult.
“West Ham are a club of stature but they are also an impatient club. Their supporters are particularly so. They are what the comedy circuit would call a ‘hard crowd’ and if their team’s season starts badly, a big new signing could become a lightning rod for criticism,” Ladyman wrote.
“Maguire would improve David Moyes’s team. Of course he would. He has handled his Old Trafford difficulties with a quiet dignity and his displays for England have rarely wavered.
“But if he thinks he would be going to east London for champagne and roses, he would quickly discover there are none.”
Warning
If Maguire was reading Ladyman’s column in the Daily Mail, he might be rethinking his move to the capital with this being the last thing that he would want to hear. The whole point of the move is to escape the toxic situation he finds himself in up north.
Fans in Manchester have not always been too kind to their former skipper and the revelation that things could be just as tough at West Ham might perhaps give him second thoughts.
The move still makes sense, despite Ladyman’s stern warning, as it is the perfect opportunity for Maguire to reinvent himself and get a second chance in front of a brand new home support to revive his career.
As long as he brings his England form with him, not his recent club performances, there is no reason why the player can’t be an instant hit at the East London outfit.
Hopefully, for him, Hammers supporters will show patience as he settles in.
In other West Ham news, the club should make another move for a Manchester-based star.