“A waste of money,” was a common phrase utilised when Manchester United spent £80million to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City.
Two years on since the defender signed, he has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League. But his journey to the top took him along a bumpy road in the process.
After his record-breaking move to United, he was appointed as club captain within six months of joining.
However, he initially struggled to stay consistent as Victor Lindelöf 's attributes were very similar to his; both technically very good on the ball, but lacked pace.
Maguire’s absence from United’s side seemed to emphasise how good a defender he actually is.
After he ripped his ankle ligaments in a Premier League game against Aston Villa in May, people started to recognise the influence he had on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
Out of the remaining four league matches, United won just once when Maguire was on the side lines. His nonappearance in the Europa League final was also a big miss, as the Red Devils lost to Villarreal.
Whilst United were better defensively last season compared to the year before, sloppy errors and needless mistakes were contributing to poorly conceded goals.
United conceded 14 in the Premier League from set-pieces last season, just behind Leeds United (15), who topped the charts.
This was something Solskjaer needed to address and it was clearly not a good look on Maguire’s behalf, even if he wasn’t at fault for all of the goals.
Not only did United bring in specialist set-piece coach, Eric Ramsey, but the club have also agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid defender, Raphaël Varane. A formal announcement should be made official within the next week.
Despite the improvements made by Solskjaer, we also saw a glimpse of how Maguire stands out when partnered with a central defender that accompanies his characteristics.
During Euro 2020, he won praise for being dominant in the air and pushing England’s defensive line up the pitch with his sensational passing ability. Together with John Stones, they conceded just two goals, which came towards the backend of the tournament.
It was almost like a sneak preview into how Maguire would appear when a defender of different qualities was aligned to him.
Varane certainly ticks all the boxes with regard to what Maguire needs from a defensive partner.
The first key component is pace.
Speed is not in Maguire’s natural ability, but where he lacks, Varane shines.
The Frenchman has clocked speeds of up to 34 km/h — only slightly behind United’s fastest player, Marcus Rashford, at 36.26 km/h. Therefore, when Maguire pushes into midfield to support offensive opportunities, Varane will be able to sweep up at the back.
A second area is recovery positioning.
Maguire is a strong defender who relishes physical contact. But this means he can be slow on the turn because he gets tight to oppositional players.
On the other hand, Varane is strong, aggressive and quicker to cover. He also excels in 1v1 situations, shown via a 56% success rate of ground duels won. This is considerably higher than Lindelöf, who stands at a mere 47%.
Both Varane (75.23%) and Maguire (70.59%) have a high success rate in defensive duels won, as well as bragging high pass success rates, which near the 90% mark for the two of them.
Ultimately, this highlights the way Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his centre-backs to perform.
If United are able to successfully play from the back and build up the pitch, whilst keeping possession, this would allow Solskjaer to play with more risk, as opposed to a midfield pivot of Scott Mctominay and Fred.
Sanctioning Paul Pogba to perform in the middle of the park also benefits both Maguire and Varane, as he can travel with the ball, similar to his role for France.
Arguably, Maguire can cement his position as one of the best central defenders in Europe with the acquisition of Varane.
As we saw in the Euros, Maguire excels when he has a defender who supplements his skillset.
It’s now two years since the Englishman joined United and his stock continues to rise. Should it continue, people might start saying “money well spent.”
