Man Utd had deal 'ready to go' before Harry Maguire's transfer move suddenly collapsed

Manchester United were all set to sign French defender Benjamin Pavard two years ago until Harry Maguire's move to West Ham stalled. England centre-back Maguire has navigated dramatic highs and some extreme lows since signing for the Red Devils in a huge £80million deal from Leicester City in July 2019.

After a series of on-pitch errors, leading to United legend Roy Keane calling him out on numerous occasions, Maguire's time at Old Trafford looked to finally be coming to an end in the summer of 2023. With former manager Erik ten Hag then at the helm, the now-32-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements after he was unceremoniously stripped of the club captaincy.

According to Sky Sports, United had agreed a £30m deal to sell Maguire to the Hammers. However, the move fell through after the Irons grew impatient with protracted negotiations. This is despite West Ham agreeing personal terms with Maguire.

His failed move to east London had a severe knock-on effect for United. The Red Devils were in need of the £30m in order to secure Pavard, who was in the last year of his deal at Bayern Munich and a deal was "ready to go" for, per Sky. He has since made a switch to Inter Milan.

United had already spent close to £200m that summer on Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund. They were said to be without much wiggle room when it came to Financial Fair Play to pull off a deal for Pavard, now 29, without banking the money for Maguire first.

The arrival of Ruben Amorim in November 2024 perhaps seemed like the beginning of the end for Maguire, once again, at United. However, the Sheffield-born star fought his way back into the team and demonstrated that he can still mix with it the best, despite United ultimately finishing in 15th in the Premier League last season.

Such is Amorim's faith in the defender that reports suggest he is ready to keep Maguire at the club despite widespread interest. Matters are complicated by the fact that the former Leicester star is out of contract next summer and free to talk to overseas clubs in January.

In huge show of faith from Amorim, the former Sporting CP boss has even included Maguire in a six-man leadership group, along with Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Tom Heaton, Noussair Mazraoui and captain Bruno Fernandes

According to The Mail, Maguire is keen to sign an extension which would see him play out the remainder of his career with United. The club are said to be happy with that arrangement, though talks are yet to get underway.

Maguire's turnaround at United is nothing short of miraculous, and United legend Rio Ferdinand recently categorised it as if the player had "come back from the dead."

The former England star also admitted to talking to Maguire about his trials and tribulations at Old Trafford. "We had the tough questions like that, what's it like you having criticism? And someone who risen from the dead almost, shown character," Ferdinand said.

"He was down and out, but he's come back. So to show that character and resilience, it was nice to just get beneath the skin and talk with him about it."

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