Harry Maguire has confirmed that Manchester United have rebuffed interest in the centre back this summer, but hasn’t ruled out leaving Old Trafford in January.
Maguire, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday in March, has entered the final year of his contract without an extension being agreed.
A report earlier this month suggested that as many as five clubs—three from within the Premier League and two from Serie A—have explored the possibility of signing him this summer. Maguire himself, without going into detail, has now stated there definitely has been interest. But United have refused to entertain letting the England defender leave at this moment in time.
“I’m pretty sure the club have made it aware this summer that I can’t leave the club on any terms with other clubs inquiring about my things and my position with my contract,” Maguire said, via The Times, as he addressed reporters at an event hosted by the Manchester United Foundation.
“I’m sure over the next few months they’ll sit down and we’ll have to have a conversation about where we want to go and if they want to extend or the transfer window will open again in January.
“Obviously I have something in my mind about what I want to do and what I want to be. I don’t want to put it out there to everybody but it’s an amazing club to play for and you’d be silly if you wanted to jump out of it as soon as you could.”
Where Maguire’s head is come the January transfer window, by which time he will have entered the last six months of his contract if nothing else has been agreed, could be influenced by how much playing time he’s had leading up to that moment.
The player didn’t start United’s opening game of the season against Arsenal. Instead, Matthijs de Ligt got the nod in the middle of Ruben Amorim’s back three, flanked by Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro, while Maguire was a late substitute, appearing off the bench for the final 10 minutes. However, he doesn’t seem to doubt that that opportunities will come his way, even without European football.
“I’m sure there’s going to be many games I play this season and I’m going to be playing a lot of games from the start. I know that,” Maguire stressed.
“The manager has got a lot of tough choices now. I think the squad is really competitive, really good competition, good high-level players in each position. Yes, me and Matthijs have been playing that central role, but also we can play either side in the back three as well. I’ve proven that. There’s competition for places all over the pitch and I think that’s healthy in the squad.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Pretty Sure’—Harry Maguire Reveals Man Utd’s Response to Summer Transfer Interest.
