As Manchester United continue their pursuit of Leicester City defender Harry Maguire continue, the 2019/20 season gets ever closer, putting the club in an uncomfortable position.
The Foxes reportedly want more than the £75million fee that saw Virgil van Dijk move from Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018, which would also be a world record fee for a defender.
United have already submitted a bid of £70m for the England international, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to bring in a quality defender in this window.
So, are there any alternatives to Harry Maguire for Manchester United? Someone who has similar attributes, but would cost less?
We used Football Manager 2019 to find out.
Harry Maguire alternatives
To find alternatives to Harry Maguire for Manchester United, we need to use Football Manager 2019's 'similar players' function, which can be found by going on the the relevant player profile and using the comparison tab, under the compare with option.
The game then selects a few of the player' best attributes and uses the database to search the world for players who have similar values for these attributes, thus allowing us to see similar players.
Normally, your search is restricted by the strength of your scouting team, but we've used the in-game editor to unlock all the players in the search, so that we can provide the four best realistic alternatives.
Current Ability: 147/200
Potential Ability: 153/200
Age: 26
Best attributes: Strength (17), heading (17), tackling (16), bravery (16), jumping reach (15), stamina (15), aggression (15), composure (15), determination (15), leadership (15), positioning (15), work rate (15) and marking (15).
As you can see from Maguire's profile, he has some great attributes.
In the player search, we put they had to be a natural central defender and with attributes of at least:
Heading - 16
Tackling - 15
Strength - 15
Composure - 15
Marking - 14
Using this search, here are the four players who have similar attributes to Maguire, according to Football Manager 2019.
Milan Skriniar - Inter Milan
Current ability: 161/200
Potential ability: 172/200
Age: 24
Skriniar is the youngest defender on this list, two years younger than Maguire, but he's already a lot better than the English defender, according to Football Manager.
The Inter Milan centre-back has a higher current ability, potential ability and more impressive attributes, although he isn't as good technically as Maguire, he beats him in pretty much every other aspect.
Jose Gimenez - Atletico Madrid
Current ability: 158/200
Potential ability: 168/200
Age: 24
Gimenez is also 24 years old, but again, he is already more highly rated than Maguire on Football Manager 2019.
The Uruguayan defender doesn't excel in any area particularly, but rather that he is strong in all areas, without any real weaknesses.
With a high potential ability rating too, Gimenez is likely to improve even further with more experience.
However, with so many players leaving Atletico Madrid this summer, including defender Diego Godin, it would probably take a significant sum of money to sign him.
Toby Alderweireld - Tottenham Hotspur
Current ability: 163/200
Potential ability: 170/200
Age: 30
Alderweireld is, on paper at least, the most attractive option for United this summer.
According to Football Manager 2019, he's much better than Maguire. He's also younger and would cost far less, due to the reported release clause in the Belgian's contract with Spurs.
Looks like an absolute no brainer, if United can't get Maguire.
Jan Vertonghen - Tottenham Hotspur
Current ability: 165/200
Potential ability: 165/200
Age: 32
Due to his age, Vertonghen would be a short-term signing for United, but he's still a world class defender.
Particularly in both defensive and technical attributes, the Belgian has real quality and would be a massive improvement on United's current defensive options.
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Best alternatives to Harry Maguire for Manchester United according to Football Manager 2019:
- Toby Alderweireld (Price/Ability)
- Milan Skriniar
- Jose Gimenez
- Jan Vertonghen
According to Football Manager 2019, Skriniar has the highest overall potential and is the youngest on the list, making him a superb option. But, purely for the balance of price and ability, Alderweireld is the best Maguire alternative for United this summer.
