$96.3 Million Former Manchester United Captain To Be Pursued By Newcastle United This Summer

Manchester United hopefuls are feeling a top-four finish in the English Premier League this season, but one player who might not see them compete for the top spot in 2023 is former captain Harry Maguire.

The England national team defender has seen the highest highs and lowest lows since joining the Red Devils in July 2019, with the club doling out a bid of £80 million ($96.3 million) to secure his services–making Maguire the most expensive defender in the world.

However, 90Min is claiming that "a number of Premier League clubs are interested in signing Maguire" and Manchester United is already bracing for the potential fact that their return on investment on him will be much lower than what they paid to acquire him.

As to which club is expected to make a run for him, Newcastle United has been pegged to be his landing spot.

"Newcastle [is] understood to be monitoring Maguire's situation and while [Manchester] United would prefer an outright sale if Maguire is to leave, a loan may be considered in order to facilitate taking on his sizeable wages on the condition that deal leads to a future permanent deal," 90Min wrote.

Maguire's past four seasons with Manchester United have been marked by spotty excellence that once saw him lead Manchester United as an on-field captain during the days of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to being a fourth-choice center-back under current boss Erik ten Hag.

It can be argued that Manchester United's decisions to bring in big names such as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, plus Casemiro to a certain extent, was brought forth by Maguire's inconsistencies.

While his hard-nosed defending style helped anchor Manchester United's spot in the upper echelons of the Premier League, he simply has not been able to make it happen every single match.

He will make great decisions from time to time, but more often than not will struggle against more composed offenses, which has led to some disappointing results for the once-championship-winning club.

Maguire was forced to watch his former wards win the 2023 Carabao Cup (also known as the English Football League Cup) in a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on February 26 – Manchester United's first piece of silverware since the 2016-17 season.

Selling the former Sheffield United youth academy graduate this offseason appears to be of the utmost importance for Manchester United as they look to use the funds they earn from the sale to bring help in the midfield.

According to the same report by 90Min, Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial are both expected to be sold while Eric Bailly, Alex Telles and Dean Henderson are poised for the loan market as well.