Newcastle United have often been credited with an interest in England defender Harry Maguire and the possibility of a summer loan move is still on the table.
Harry Maguire is still the world’s most expensive defender after his £80million move from Leicester to Manchester United. However, the England international has spent the largest part of this season on the bench under Erik ten Hag and as such it’s believed he’ll be seeking a move this summer.
90mins believe that while Manchester United would prefer a permanent deal, they could possibly be swayed by a loan move as long as there is an option to buy, in order to clear his massive £200k-a-week wages off the books.
Maguire’s massive wages could be a stumbling block
It’s those huge wages that could be the stumbling block in any move for Maguire. If Newcastle can arrange a deal with Manchester United where they pay a percentage of his wages while on loan, that could potentially work for both parties.
Newcastle are keen to bring in players who have European experience and Maguire certainly fits that description with his Champions League experience with Manchester United. He’s also a Premier League winner with Leicester City and an established England international.
Maguire has bags of experience but he’s also come in for a lot of criticism this season from Manchester United fans as well as rival fans. It was a shock when he was called up for Gareth Southgate‘s World Cup squad after some harrowing performances for his club.
Out in Qatar, though, Maguire proved that he’s still got what it takes to be a top defender it’s just not clicking for him in Manchester.
Eddie Howe could get the best out of Maguire at Newcastle
Eddie Howe could offer him an escape route from his Manchester nightmare and that could be the start of a revival for the 30-year-old. It would be a move that Kieran Trippier would certainly be happy about with the Newcastle man calling his England teammate ‘fantastic‘.
Maguire has made 29 appearances in all competitions for Manchester United this season, the majority of which were off the bench which won’t be helping his confidence at all.
There will be large sections of the Newcastle fanbase who will want us to stay well away from this one, and I lean more towards the no-deal side of things, but I won’t be completely opposed to him coming to Tyneside if the deal is right.
He’s definitely still a good player, we see it when he pulls on an England shirt, but sometimes when a player doesn’t click with a manager it can be extremely detrimental to their form, we’ve seen it a million times before. I back Eddie Howe to be able to get the best out of him if he comes to Newcastle.
I’d still definitely only go with a loan though, and an option to buy, not a mandate.
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