Maguire will relish Bramall Lane return
Harry Maguire is eternally grateful to boyhood club Sheffield United – but there is no room for sentiment today as the Manchester United defender looks for victory at Bramall Lane.
The world’s most expensive defender came through the Blades’ youth system, making 160 appearances for the club before moving on to Hull, Leicester and then Old Trafford over the summer.
Maguire returns to Bramall Lane as an £80-million player and cannot wait to see some familiar faces, although helping Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United to victory is his key focus.
“Living up in Manchester now, it’s nice to go home and see my friends and my family,” the centre-back said.
“Probably not this weekend, though, especially not before the game.
“I probably will after the game. Hopefully I’ll be the one smiling with my friends and not them.
“I am sure some of them will be supporting Sheff United, but my family will all be supporting Man United and hoping we can get the three points.”
Maguire now plays for one of the biggest clubs on the planet and is an England regular, but his first professional years were spent in League One after Sheffield United were relegated from the Championship at the end of his first campaign.
With the club from the age of 11, it is little wonder the centre-back holds the Blades close to his heart.
“It means so much, the club,” Maguire said.
“The club that gave me the chance to fulfil my dream in playing professional football.
“I owe them a lot. I go back and support them whenever I can.
“It’s the first result I look for when I get off a football pitch.
“I want them to win every game of football they’re playing apart from when I play against them.”
Meanwhile, Blades boss Chris Wilder insists the aura associated with Manchester United remains despite their recent decline.
The Reds’ trophyladen era under Sir Alex Ferguson has become a distant memory since his departure in 2013 and, by their own high standards, they are having a hard time.
“Manchester United are one of the most iconic teams in the world, and there will always be an aura surrounding them,” said Wilder.
“No matter how their fortunes on the pitch may fluctuate, it’s still one of football’s true powerhouses that we are talking about whenever we mention their name.
“They are an incredible club who are just going through a spell right now where they are not having it all their own way.
“That happens in football.
“But fortunes can fluctuate very quickly in this game and they will find their way back to the top, that’s for certain.”