Chelsea have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Harry Maguire – who is prepared to leave Manchester United after being stripped of the captaincy by manager Erik ten Hag, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claims that the England international is upset with Ten Hag’s latest decision and he believes his time at Man Utd is coming to an end.
The situation has alerted rival Premier League clubs and Tottenham have been strongly linked with a move for Maguire this summer. However, it appears they’ll face stiff competition as The Sun claims that Chelsea have joined Spurs in the race to sign Maguire while Newcastle and West Ham are also showing a keen interest.
After being stripped of the captaincy, Maguire posted on his Twitter Page.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain,” Maguire
“He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.
“I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband.
“Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date.
“I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful – on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success.”
Reinforcement
Chelsea are keen on bringing in midfielders following the exit of several players due to the ongoing summer clearout, however, signing a defender could be on the cards for Mauricio Pochettino.
It looks like Maguire has emerged as a shock target for Chelsea but they’ll face competition from Tottenham as Ange Postecoglou is also in the market for defensive reinforcements and the former Leicester star is on his radar.
According to the Sun, United were demanding £50m to sell Maguire but his asking price could drop to £30m as the Manchester giants looks to get him off the books this summer.
Maguire’s remaining contract with the Red Devils will expire in 2025 but he is clearly not in ten Hag’s plans so a move away from Old Trafford would be best for all parties. He has fallen down the pecking order with the likes of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, and left-back Luke Shaw all ahead of him.
Maguire, who moved to Old Trafford from Leicester in 2019, featured in 31 games in all competitions for United last season.
With regular playing time difficult to come by at Man Utd this coming campaign, the England defender is set to leave with Chelsea and Tottenham ready to battle it out over a potential deal.
Read more: Report: Chelsea make transfer decision on £56m striker amid regular links
