West Ham United have made a bid for Harry Maguire, but both Manchester United and the player have rejected it.

“Manchester United have rejected West Ham’s £20 million ($32.7 million) bid for defender Harry Maguire,” British media outlet Sky Sports reported on Monday (June 29).

Maguire, a 6-foot-2, 194-pound defender, was once a center back that United had high hopes for. In 2019, the Red Devils spent a whopping £80 million ($133.3 billion) to sign Maguire from Leicester City, setting a new transfer record for a defender.

However, Maguire made an increasing number of mistakes on the field since his arrival and was eventually pushed out of the starting lineup by manager Eric Dier, who has been in charge of the club since last season.

More recently, he suffered the humiliation of being stripped of the captaincy when United named Bruno Fernandes as their new captain. As Maguire’s place in the team became increasingly limited, West Ham made a bid for him to strengthen their defense, but it fell well short of United’s asking price.

United are also reportedly willing to part ways with Maguire depending on the situation, with no new defensive signings during the summer 2023 transfer window.

“United are not pushing Maguire away and he is understood to remain a valued member of the club,” Sky Sports explained.

“West Ham’s offer falls well short of the value United have placed on him,” the report added, “and if Maguire wants to leave the club to secure playing time, United will want £40m ($65.4m) in transfer fees.”

“Maguire’s future is up to the player. A club has emerged that wants Maguire and a deal could be agreed in the region of £35 million, but Maguire’s salary is the stumbling block.”

Maguire is one of the highest paid players at United, earning £190,000 a week last season.

In addition, United’s third-place finish in the Premier League last season and qualification for the UEFA Champions League earned players a 20 percent pay increase, meaning Maguire now earns £228,000 a week, which is comparable to the salaries of many of the Premier League’s top players.

With West Ham struggling to sign Maguire due to his transfer fee and weekly wages, it has been reported that Maguire would like to join a bigger, more prestigious club than West Ham if he were to leave the club.

“While wages are an issue, Maguire is planning to join a bigger club than West Ham if he leaves United,” according to British media outlet The Times.

The London-based Hammers have long been a mid-table Premier League team and lifted the Europa League trophy last season, beating Fiorentina in the final.

Despite winning the UEFA Cup, which is two levels below the Champions League, the Hammers are not quite at the level of the club Maguire wants to play for, which has put a question mark over his signing.

Among the clubs interested in signing Maguire are SSC Napoli, who lost Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich, as well as Italian Serie A clubs such as Juventus, AS Roma, AC Milan, and Inter Milan. It will be interesting to see if Maguire stays at United despite falling out of contention for a starting spot, or if he heads to a new team to secure playing time. 메이저사이트