Harry Maguire 'an icon of the team' at Man Utd | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has emerged as an 'icon of the team' in Erik ten Hag’s 2023/24 season amid an impressive upturn in performances, and transfer insider Dean Jones has pinpointed one current United star that should look to him as an ‘example’.

Formerly of Leicester City, the centre-back’s career in Greater Manchester seemed to be down and out upon the arrivals of World Cup winner Lisandro Martínez, for £56.7m, and four-time Champions League winner Raphael Varane, who the club parted ways with £41m for.

With the aforementioned duo unavailable through injury, however, the former club captain has risen to prominence as the beating heart of the Red Devils’ back line, despite being booed by his own fans during a 2023/24 pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao.

Harry Maguire’s redemption arc

Once an outcast under Erik ten Hag’s Old Trafford tutelage, there was a point over the summer where a switch to capital club West Ham United seemed inevitable, with many fans - new and old - turning on him, despite his persistence on training tirelessly behind the scenes and always putting the club above all else.

West Ham had tabled and had a bid agreed - believed to be around the £30m mark – for Maguire back in August, per the Guardian, though the former Hull City ace decided to stay put and prove his worth. And following his continued heroics in the centre of the club’s back line, it’s safe to say he has been on an incredible ‘redemption arc’.

Of the first seven Premier League fixtures of the current season, Maguire – who cost United a lofty £80m back in 2019, racked up just 26 minutes of action, while in the next nine outings, he has not missed a minute. As reported by ESPN in October, however, David Moyes’ side are considering whether to re-invest their interest in the central defender come January, though the east London club may not be deterred given his increase in game time at his Manchester employers.

The report suggests that Moyes is a keen admirer of centre-back, with Kurt Zouma’s potential switch to the Saudi Pro League in January paving the way for it to come to fruition – for the second time. A stalwart in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions set-up, Maguire will be keen to settle at a ground where he’ll get regular minutes – and with Varane and Martinez soon returning, that may not be in Greater Manchester for much longer.

Dean Jones on Harry Maguire

Jones has suggested that the 30-year-old defender, who pockets £190,000-a-week, should be viewed as an ‘icon’ by his teammates, though he did admit that many players have been in a worse position than the man in question, most notably Marcus Rashford.

The transfer insider claims that the Englishman, who enjoyed a 30-goal campaign in 2022/23, could view his compatriot, Maguire, as an ‘example’. Insisting that Maguire will be most likely to be in England’s Euro 2024 squad, he also believes that, by the end of this season, he’ll likely have more Premier League starts added to his CV than the best part of the squad. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said:

Man Utd ‘willing to listen to offers’ for star trio

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25 per cent stake – worth £1.25 billion – poised to be sealed and announced within the next fortnight, per the Mirror, there could be ample change in the Old Trafford personnel over the January transfer window. The INEOS billionaire, also a boyhood United fan, will oversee the club’s football operations, which will include transfer business.

As such, the Independent has suggested that the club are open to discussing the futures of a string of high-profile players – three to be exact, as Ten Hag looks to fine-tune his squad. Jadon Sancho, who has been exiled from using all first team facilities, will be on the chopping board in the New Year, though that should come as little surprise given both parties – Ten Hag included – are refusing to apologise.

Much has been made of the Dutch tactician’s willingness to leave Varane, a perennial winner with Real Madrid, on the bench so often. All while, journalist Steve Bates has recently written in his column for GIVEMESPORT stating that Varane could head to Nice (also owned by Ratcliffe), while the Middle East is also a viable option.

Casemiro, who had been considered a breath of fresh air in the engine room last season, represents a different type of midfielder that the club are seeking and, therefore, could be removed from the books in January, with the club happy to listen to any offers for the Brazilian. That said, however, the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano recently told GIVEMESPORT that the Red Devils ‘are not desperate’ to offload the 31-year-old during the January window.