Glen Johnson critcial of ‘nervous’ Harry Maguire for not completing West Ham transfer
Glen Johnson has claimed that Harry Maguire did not complete his transfer to West Ham United because he was too “nervous” about struggling if he moved to the Irons.
The Manchester United defender appeared to be set to complete his switch to the London Stadium after the Red Devils agreed a fee with the Hammers this summer, but Maguire opted to stay at Old Trafford to fight for his place instead.
David Moyes has long been an admirer of the 30-year-old and was very keen to bring him to East London, but Johnson has speculated that Maguire may not have been confident that he would be able to perform well enough for West Ham.
Speaking in an interview with BetFred on Tuesday (22 August) Johnson said: “If he was confident enough that he would be a success at West Ham, then I believe they would have got the deal done. I think he’s worried that he could still play rubbish at West Ham and then the whole situation is even more embarrassing.
“I think he must be nervous about the move because let’s face it, if your current team doesn’t want you and another Premier League team wants you, then the deal should be relatively easy to do.”
Harsh but some truth
It does feel as though this is a deal that would have made perfect sense for all parties if it had been completed with the Irons strengthening their backline and Maguire having the opportunity to rekindle his Leicester City form while remaining in the England team.
Johnson’s comments are fairly speculative and damning, suggesting that the defender was too worried to leave Old Trafford as he has made no secret about taking very little interest in what pundits or critics have to say surrounding his performances in the past.
Maguire’s mentality can be questioned but it could also be viewed that he genuinely believes he is good enough to be Manchester United’s centre-back this season and with the Red Devils competing in the Champions League again this season he is likely to feature as a rotation option.
A switch to the London Stadium would have been the more difficult move for the defender and for whatever reason he has decided to not complete the move. As far as the Hammers are concerned they’ve already moved on to other targets, with Konstantinos Mavropanos set to join the ranks at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, Jeremy Doku has told his club he wants to complete a move, but not to the London Stadium