Tim Sherwood disputes ‘strange’ reason why Harry Maguire to West Ham United collapsed live on Sky Sports
Tim Sherwood has questioned the reason behind why West Ham pulled out of a move to sign Harry Maguire after agreeing a fee for the Manchester United defender.
West Ham reached a £30million agreement with Man Utd on 9 August [BBC Sport], but it was widely reported on Tuesday [15 August] that the deal had fallen through.
Sky Sports quoted a source close to the deal as saying that there was never an agreement in place between Maguire and West Ham, and that “the process was less advanced than portrayed in the media”.
However, former Tottenham boss Sherwood does not believe that is the case.
“I’m surprised,” he said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Special [15 August, 19:50]. “They’re putting it down to media speculation, but you don’t agree a fee for a player unless you’ve spoken to the player.
“That’s how it works, whether you like it or not. You pretty much know whether a player is interested or not in coming.
“It was reported Man United had agreed a fee with West Ham, so it’s all very strange that it hasn’t gone through.”
Mystery
This is not the first occasion of a transfer seemingly on the verge of being finalised falling through late on – nor will it be the last – but the high-profile nature of the deal is what makes it so interesting.
It has been nearly a week since West Ham reputedly found middle ground with their Premier League rivals regarding a fee, leaving just minor details – so we thought – with the player to iron out.
However, whether it was down to wages, Man Utd changing their mind or Maguire simply getting cold feet, the Irons will now have to look elsewhere and the Englishman looks set to spend the majority of the season on the substitutes’ bench.
As pointed out by Sherwood, who has first-hand experience of transfer dealings at the highest level following his time with Spurs, the deal was surely at an advanced enough stage or else various details would not have been leaked – deliberately or otherwise.
More information will no doubt be shed in the coming days, but for now there is mystery regarding exactly why West Ham are left desperately searching for another centre-back with a little over two weeks of the window to run.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes’ men may already have another central-defensive target lined up.