Harry Maguire’s Leaves Manchester United Wondering ‘What If?’

Almost four years since Harry Maguire made the move to Manchester United the hulking Yorkshireman is being shown the exit door.

A $30 million fee has been agreed with West Ham United to sell the former captain to the East Londoners and, should personal terms be settled, it will mean the world’s most expensive defender will leave for around a third of what he cost.

When he arrived at Old Trafford back in 2019 he was handed a six-year contract with an option for a seventh.

The length of the deal was both a tool to write off the giant $100 million fee in the club’s accounts and a demonstration of how long they saw him being an integral part of the team.

Welcoming the England player to the club then-coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full of praise.

“Harry is one of the best center-backs in the game today and I am delighted we have secured his signature,” he said.

“He is a great reader of the game and has a strong presence on the pitch, with the ability to remain calm under pressure – coupled with his composure on the ball and a huge presence in both boxes – I can see he will fit well into this group both on and off the pitch.

“He has a great personality and is a fantastic addition to the club.”

Barely six months into his stay in the North-West Maguire was given the further endorsement of being named captain.

“Harry has been wearing the captain’s armband and he will keep wearing it,” explained Solskjaer of the move.

“He’s come in and been a leader in the group. I’ve been, not surprised, but I’ve been impressed by his leadership skills, so Harry will keep on wearing the armband.”

It’s an indictment of the group he was entering that such a status could be bestowed on a man who could barely have had time to learn everyone’s names properly.

But this was a club that had been lacking direction and a clear sense of strategy for the best part of a decade.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013 with a Premier League winners medal, United has chopped and changed coaches.

They swung from the supposedly strategic Louis Van Gaal to the win-now appointment Jose Mourinho and, of course, the untried rookie Solskjaer.

Huge sums were spent on players to aid these various coaches’ efforts to little avail, whether it was the established talent of Paul Pogba or the exciting potential of Jaden Sancho players who donned the Red of United always seemed to get worse.

In fact, before the arrival of Erik ten Hag, only Bruno Fernandes can really be described as a signing who reached a higher level in the post-Ferguson United era.

Maguire was no different. A solid first season soon gave way to inconsistency, repeated apologies for embarrassing defeats made him the face of failure and then embarrassing blunders the cause of them.

His stock continued to tumble to the point where at the end of last season he was a good distance from the starting lineup.

This summer the inevitable happened and he was relieved of the captaincy.

Recency bias tends to alter the way we view previous accolades, Maguire’s extended fall from grace has made it feel like he was always out of his depth at the top, but this was simply not the case.

Revisiting that moment United captured the then-Leicester City star four years ago helps demonstrate how much-unfulfilled potential he had.

‘An excellent, top-class player’

“Maguire is an excellent, top-class player,” said Manchester City Pep Guardiola in the aftermath of the 2019 Community Shield.

The boss of United’s rivals had been asked his opinion on the new signing on the other side of the city and made no secret of his admiration.

“We were interested, but we could not afford it. United afford it. He’s an excellent player, national team too, he had an incredible World Cup.

“He’s strong in the air, good with the ball, the build-up, he drives with the ball, he’s fast, so fast. He has all the qualities. Congratulations to United for this signature.”

Guardiola was far from alone in his belief the Red Devils had secured a coup.

“Anyone who’s interviewed him, or spent any time around him, knows he’s a good character. I think it’s a great buy,” said experienced British journalist Henry Winter, “Manchester United would have liked him about three weeks ago, but it’s a fantastic signing. He’ll bring a smile back to that dressing room because he’s such an engaging character.”

Astute in possession and ferocious in the tackle, Maguire appeared to be the complete center-back.

Those skills did not disappear in the years which followed, but his confidence in himself has been gradually eroded with every misplaced pass or defensive mistake.

Had he spent the best years of his career under Pep Guardiola rather than Solskjaer perhaps that wouldn’t have been the case maybe he would be blossoming now.

Unfortunately, we will never know. But a clue to Maguire’s under-appreciated abilities can be found in his performances for England.

An always reliable defender for his country, he has been a trusted part of Gareth Southgate’s back line even whilst struggling at Manchester United.

But his outstanding displays in the nation’s 2021 run to the final of the European Championships are quickly forgotten or described as an anomaly.

Could they not have been an indication of the way it was chaos at United which was causing his poor performances rather than the other way around?

Should he make the move Maguire will have a chance to offer some answers to the question.