Manchester United next signing “imminent” after clubs reach breakthrough!

Manchester United are on the verge of signing Leicester City defender Harry Maguire according to reports in the Independent claiming the two clubs have now made a breakthrough in the negotiations.

After weeks of rumours, it now seems that United have done what’s required for Leicester City to relinquish the services of Maguire.

According to the BBC, the Red Devils had registered a bid of £70 million at the start of the month but that was short of the Foxes asking price. This would align with Brendan Rodgers comments over the last few days.

"“Harry’s a top-quality player and no-one has come near the valuation to tempt the club to sell”."

However, it now appears that valuation has been met and United have paid the £80 million that Leicester were searching for. The Independent also reported that the extra £10 million they managed to stump up has been wrapped up in conditional clauses.

It’s a lot of money. If the deal goes through, Maguire will become the most expensive defender of all time, a feat currently held by Virgil Van Dijk after his move to Liverpool from Southampton in 2018. The fee for that transfer was a rumoured £75 million, not too much more than what United could have bought Maguire for last campaign when Leicester demanded £70 million.

How will the move affect the rest of the group?

But, for the likes of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly, and Marcos Rojo it is a different story. Jones and Smalling have been at United for just under a decade and both have had their injury problems, however, the latter has proved more popular under recent managers.

Bailly has flattered to deceive since arriving from Villarreal, with injuries once again stalling his career. Marcos Rojo has also had his fair share of injuries but performances in between haven’t left United fans with much to desire.

One thing is certain if Ed Woodward is to complete the £80 million transfer for Maguire then he will not be sitting on the bench. The England international will start come the 11th of August against Chelsea but who will join him?