One of the biggest transfer stories of the summer window so far has been whether Leicester and England centre-back Harry Maguire will leave the Foxes this summer. Reportedly Manchester giants City and United are going head-to-head for the defender.
Now, according to reports from Sky Sports, the centre-back has told the Foxes that he wishes to leave this summer. However, his exit will not be a cheap one, as United have already seen a bid of around £70million dismissed for the centre-back.
Foxes will demand record fee for a defender
Media reports suggest that Leicester will demand a world record fee for a defender of £80million for Maguire. A fee like that would eclipse the £75million Liverpool paid Southampton for Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Maguire is a good player. However, it is an awful lot of money to pay for a player who is nowhere near as good as Van Dijk. The Leicester centre-back is a good ball-playing centre-back.
However, he is by no means world-class. The Foxes are doing the right thing by demanding such a fee. They are happy to keep him and they certainly do not need the money. If he does leave the Midlands club will get the maximum profit from the deal.
Selling Maguire for anything near £80million would be great business for Leicester, who signed the centre-back for an initial fee of just £12million rising to £17milion with add-ons.
A replacement lined up for Maguire
According to many media outlets, Leicester have already sounded out Brighton about a £45million move for centre-back Lewis Dunk. The 27-year-old England international would be a decent replacement for Maguire and virtually at half the price of the former Hull star.
Dunk is not the same sort of centre-back as Maguire. He is more of a straightforward, solid centre-back, all blocks and aerial ability. Dunk is not as good a player as Maguire, but he will do a job for the Foxes when called upon. He will certainly not let the team down that is for sure.
The fact that the Leicester already have the likes of experienced centre-backs Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan, plus promising younger star Caglar Soyuncu on their books will mean there will be no panic to rush out and overspend on a centre-back.
However, to me anyway, selling Maguire for £80million and spending £45million on Lewis Dunk makes sense, in the current crazy transfer market. Neither player is probably worth their prospective fee in reality. However, unfortunately, the transfer market is crazy and in this such a mad market these are not the strangest moves in the world.
Leicester still outsiders for the top six
Even without Maguire, if as expected he leaves, then Leicester will still be in good shape to challenge for a top-six spot next season. The Foxes are part of the small group alongside Wolves and Everton, who finished outside the top six last season.
On paper, the Foxes have a fighting chance, as they are certainly moving in the right direction. Brendan Rodgers team are now odds of 4/1 to make the top-six next season.
I cannot say I watched all of Leicester’s games last season. However, from what I did see they have an exciting young team developing. Occasionally, even a team looking to move forward sells a good player for a big fee and that may be the case for the Foxes with Maguire.
The 26-year-old is a good player. However, it is not the end of the world if he leaves the Midlands club, especially if the Foxes receive such a healthy fee for his sale.
Will Harry Maguire be plying his trade for Manchester United next season?
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