Harry Maguire: Everton, West Ham and three other clubs who could sign Man Utd star | OneFootball

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The collapse of Harry Maguire’s move to West Ham United this summer means the former Manchester United captain will stay at the club for another six months, at least. After moving to Manchester in 2019 for £80m the English international has seen his game time drop year-on-year.

During his first season in 2019/20, he played 38 times in the Premier League, however in 2020/21 he played 34 times, in 2021/22 he played 30 times and last season he only made 16 appearances, eight of which were starts.

Maguire has also been publicly criticised by new manager Erik ten Hag who said: “If he cannot fight for his place he has to go.” Despite this, last season the Sheffield United academy product ranked as The Red Devil’s seventh-best performer, per Sofascore, with an average rating of 6.95.

However, with each passing season the 30-year-old looks closer and closer to leaving United, so here are five clubs that the fifth most expensive English player of all time could move to next…

West Ham United

The most obvious option for Maguire would be the club that had chased him all summer. After club talisman and captain Declan Rice left the Hammers for £105m in the summer, the London-based club heavily recruited to cover for Rice’s absence. This included bringing in James-Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, who have already made a positive impact for David Moyes' side.

However, the one target they didn’t get was Maguire, as after the clubs agreed on a deal worth £30m the transfer collapsed. If the deal had gone through West Ham could have been a perfect fit for the centre-back. With a lower-pressure environment and the Hammers' need for a strong leader, it could have allowed him to regain his confidence and return to the player he was at Leicester City.

Maguire would have also been an ideal fit for West Ham manager David Moyes’ typical style of centre-back. This can be seen through his previous defenders such as Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, who were both strong and powerful players that could dominate in the air, much like Maguire.

Al-Ettifaq

The rise of the Saudi Pro League in the last year has been meteoric. In just the latest transfer window clubs across the league spent a staggering £763m on transfers - the only league that spent more was the Premier League, where the clubs spent a combined £1.1bn.

With the pull of life-changing salaries, clubs in the Saudi Pro League have attracted some of football's biggest stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Neves, Jordan Henderson and Karim Benzema. They have even brought in some of Europe’s best managers such as Nuno Espirito Santo and Steven Gerrard.

This has proven to European clubs that this isn’t a retirement league like the MLS or the Chinese Super League and needs to be taken seriously. This could make Al-Ettifaq an ideal location for Maguire.

During the summer Gerrard became their new manager and signed Henderson, Demarari Gray and Georginio Wijnaldum, so the Englishman would be working alongside players he knows. Henderson was also a surprise inclusion in the most recent England squad, suggesting moving to the Middle East won't necessarily scupper Maguire's chances of making it to Euro 2024.

Sean Dyche’s Everton spent last year desperately fighting against relegation, and only on the final day of last season did they secure their place in the division. They stayed up by only two points while having a goal difference of -23, six less than 18th-place Leicester who were relegated. They have also suffered a difficult start to this season as they currently find themselves once again battling for safety, and have been conceding goals for fun.

This should make finding a quality defensive partner for James Tarkowski in January’s transfer window one of Dyche’s top priorities and Maguire (probably on a six-month loan) could be an ideal solution. Maguire’s introduction could certainly bring in some much-required leadership, presence and all-round quality to an Everton side that is severely lacking it.

Roma

Over the last decade, there has been a massive increase in English players moving to the Italian league, most recently the English defensive pairing of Fikayo Tomori and Chris Smalling moved to AC Milan and Roma. And since moving the duo have both been nominated or included in Serie A’s Team of the Season. On top of this, Tomori even won the league title in 2022.

This should show Maguire that moving to another country can allow players who felt rejected by their previous club to thrive. One option the defender could have is to move to Jose Mourinho’s Roma, alongside Smalling.

Roma have had an incredibly difficult start to the 2023/24 season, despite signing Romelu Lukaku and Renato Sanchez. Furthermore, the Italian side lost first-choice centre-back Roger Ibanez to Al-Ahli for £26, leaving them defensively weak and lacking options.

This could allow Maguire to become a needed replacement and add depth to a squad, while at the same time revitalising the 30-year-old's stagnating career, by allowing him to reinvent himself away from the spotlight.

Sheffield United

It’s not been the best start to life back in the Premier League for Sheffield United, as the Blades currently find themselves scrapping it out near the bottom of the table.

One solution to their Premier League survival could be the signing of Maguire. Although it is unlikely to happen it certainly would be the most romantic potential move as the England international is a Sheffield United academy graduate.

The centre-back made his debut for his hometown side during the 2010/11 Championship season - following this he would then go on to make 166 appearances for the Blades, scoring 12 goals and providing 10 assists, before moving to Hull in 2014.

Although joining his boyhood club would be a step down it may be just the springboard he needs to re-start his career. He will be welcomed back by the fans with lots of praise and adoration, something that he has been severely lacking since moving to Manchester, and provide him with the platform to put in his best performances again while saving Sheffield from relegation.