Maguire set to stay, but could lose captaincy
MANCHESTER UNITED are set to keep Harry Maguire but will look to sign a new centre back if they can offload Eric Bailly, Phil Jones or Axel Tuanzebe this summer.
Maguire’s future at Old Trafford has been in doubt after a poor season in which the United captain’s form and leadership was called into question by some of his own team-mates.
New manager Erik ten Hag plans to keep him as one of his central defenders alongside Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof, even though the captaincy now appears to be up in the air.
Ten Hag was non-committal over the issue at his unveiling last month after United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick said the players should vote on who wears the armband.
Maguire lost his place under Rangnick and will face even greater competition next season if United can land another player in his position this summer.
Their first choice would be Jurrien Timber, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax, but United believe he may decide to stay with the Dutch champions. Timber’s Ajax teammate Lisandro Martinez and Villarreal’s Pau Torres are also options.
Ten Hag is keen to sign two more of his former Ajax players, Frenkie de Jong and Antony, as well as Christian Eriksen.
De Jong is United’s No 1 transfer target as they remain locked in talks with Barcelona over a fee for the Holland midfielder. United will not be pressured into meeting Barca’s £70million demand and are prepared to walk away from the deal.
Brazil winger Antony would cost in the region of £40m from Ajax, but Eriksen is a free agent after a season at Brenford.
United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is expected to join Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan as talks between the two clubs progress.
●SOUTHAMPTON are close to appointing Manchester City youth scouting expert Joe Shields as their new head of firstteam recruitment, with influential talentspotter Sam Fagbemi a contender to replace him. Shields, as City’s head of academy recruitment, has developed a reputation as one of the best identifiers of young players in Europe and City have fended off interest
in him from Arsenal and Chelsea in recent years. But the opportunity to work within the first-team recruitment set-up of a topflight club is a major attraction for Shields.
If City cannot convince Shields to stay, former Arsenal video scout Fagbemi is an internal candidate to be promoted from his role as national youth scouting manager.