Harry Maguire will leave Manchester United in the January transfer window, following his impressive displays for England during the World Cup campaign in Qatar, which was eventually ended by France in the quarterfinals.
That is the opinion of Ally McCoist, who spoke on the talkSPORT Breakfast show earlier in the week.
“I think he will move,” said McCoist. “I don’t think he may move; I’ll go one further – I think he WILL move.
“He isn’t going to hang around – he wants to play.
“I don’t think there are any guarantees that he’s going to march back into the Manchester United team, not in front of Varane and Martinez.”
Having thrived away from Old Trafford, it could well be a transfer that would benefit all parties involved.
As the Rangers legend says, Maguire is highly unlikely to displace either world-class defender Raphael Varane or Ten Hag-favourite Lisandro Martinez.
Ahead of the World Cup, United’s captain was not even favoured to Victor Lindelof by his manager, who often picked the Swede ahead of him.
But Maguire was arguably one of the best-performing centre backs during the Qatar tournament, and McCoist believes that he would be a good fit for teams competing at the top end of the Premier League.
“Well, that’s up for debate,” he said when asked about Maguire’s next club.
“Clearly, he will want to play. Straight away off the top of my head, I’d say he’s good enough for Spurs. Arsenal? Maybe not at this moment in time. But he’s been one of England’s best players at the World Cup.”
Maguire would probably be quite a good fit in an Antonio Conte team. Regularly playing in a back three would allow the Englishman to challenge for the ball more recklessly, and with less thought of dangers around or behind him, where his turning speed is often exposed at Old Trafford.
It would also enable him to make more effective use of his ability on the ball. While he can look ponderous with only a fullback, a centre-half partner and one midfielder as passing options, additional support in the build up could help Maguire to speed up his game a little.
Going off his performances on the international stage, the United captain would be a clear upgrade on the likes of Clement Lenglet, Davinson Sanchez, and Eric Dier. Conte’s deeper style of defending and willingness to have his teams play on the break could even see Maguire hit heights beyond those he managed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But talkSPORT pundit Andy Townsend disagrees with McCoist, believing that a good World Cup was all Maguire needed to win his place back at Old Trafford.
“He will be going back to Manchester United in much better shape mentally,” he added.
“He will go back with a completely different frame of mind, He’s found a lot more of his game, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but he’s found his game, which had deserted him for a long while.
“It’s been very, very tough for him, so fair play to Harry for that. He didn’t let anybody down at the World Cup, he did his job, and he did it well.
“He’s still got gears to find, but he will go back to Manchester United now a different player.”
