Harry Maguire’s traumatic time with Manchester United is about to come to an end. After months of speculation about his future and weeks after being stripped of the captaincy, he is set to join West Ham for £30 million ($38.2m). Most sensible United fans will wish him luck. They suffered as much as he did.
Others, including those who booed him during the recent friendly against Athletic Club, those who taunted him on social media and the low life who sent a bomb threat to his house, will be delighted to see the back of him.
Maguire’s departure from United four years after his record-breaking £80m ($101m) move from Leicester City in 2019 is a sad end to what was an exciting transfer at the time. He arrived as the most-expensive defender in the world, a rock in England’s successful World Cup campaign, and a lethal asset at set-pieces. But he leaves with his tail between his legs, worth a fraction of the amount United paid for him.
He has been mocked by United and rival fans alike, and by the end of last season he was little more than a fringe player for Erik ten Hag, the Dutchman’s fifth-choice centre-back. He ended the campaign making just eight Premier League starts, and in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, he could not even get off the bench.