West Ham United insiders share alternative target update after Harry Maguire twist
West Ham are already pursuing another target after abandoning a move for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, according to 6foot2.
The Irons have decided against continuing their long-running £30million pursuit of Maguire after growing tired of waiting for the centre-back to agree his exit from Old Trafford [The Guardian].
In a further update later on Tuesday [15 August], 6foot2 editor Sean Whetsone reported via his Twitter account, West Ham Football, that an alternative option has already been lined up.
“West Ham Club insider confirms reports that the Hammers have now given up on Harry Maguire and are now pursuing another unknown target,” the Twitter post read.
“Mind games with Manchester United or have they really thrown in the towel?”
The right choice
Assuming David Moyes’ men are not simply trying to hurry Maguire into making a decision, it will be exciting to find out exactly who they are targeting instead of the England international.
West Ham still have a sizeable amount of money to spend, even after bringing in Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse from Ajax and Southampton respectively, thanks to the sales of Declan Rice and Gianluca Scamacca.
The Europa Conference League winners have been linked with plenty of centre-backs while the Maguire speculation has dragged on, including the likes of Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos, Bayern Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah and Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice.
Each of those would be in West Ham’s price range, although clubs will no doubt attempt to play hardball knowing that United have cash and are in a race against time to land a centre-back.
Missing out on Maguire is a big blow for the East London side given they have remained patient in their pursuit, but moving on and bringing in an alternative is surely the best option this close to the window closing.
In other West Ham news, Flynn Downes’ proposed switch to Southampton has reportedly stalled.