Transfers sagas sometimes gets very interesting because of the drama they present. Last few years have shown a really curious case with Manchester United. They have developed a tendency to really extend a transfer saga. Thiago alacantra, Gareth bale, Cristiano Ronaldo etc etc. I don’t even have a count on how many players they failed to sign after a prolonged series of discussion. Also they have signed a lot of players for a very high fees who probably could not justify their fees. A similar kind of case is taking birth where United want to sign Harry Maguire. Harry Maguire is a commanding defender who is exceptional in air. He can develop the game from the back, and his passing skills are good. During England’s run to the semifinals he was one of the stars of the squad. However, even after so many qualities his weaknesses are there for see. He is definitely not the best defender around and there are atleast 20 defender which I personally feel are better than him. So the question is. Is Harry Maguire really worth 80 million?
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Manchester United finished 6th in the league last season after horrible last 10 games. Obviously they need a new center back and Maguire’s undisputed ability on the ball will provide United with a massive boost in terms of technicality.
If we flashback few years, David Moyes wanted to buy Harry Maguire in 2013 from Sheffield United for 4m but United refused back then. Later Jose wanted to buy Maguire but that was also rejected. Now United want to buy Maguire but the price is now ridiculous - 80m!!!
I don’t think Harry Maguire is worth £80m at all. They should scout younger talent and sign them and do what they missed doing in 2013.
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Exactly hemant. Just imagine that de Ligt and VVD were cheaper than Harry Maguire
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I don’t understand how Matthijs de Ligt is worth less than Harry Maguire. Maguire’s stats also do not justify the hike. 19 yr old Matthijs moved to Juventus from Ajax for about £67.5m. Why pay Maguire a record deal when he is 6 yrs senior than Matthijs and whose performance could peak anytime?
Transfer values are a clear bubble with inflated values driven by how many clubs are chasing the players. Valuation and worth goes for a toss when it becomes a game of demand and supply.
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Something is definitely wrong with Football as spending in football has reached uncontrollable levels. A decade ago £80m got Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, £80m gets you Harry Maguire who has just scored 1 goal for England in his career and I don’t think his stats are that good for Leicester city as well. £75m fee that Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk in 2018 set new benchmarks for a CD but VVD has surely proved his worth. United will be fools if they sign him for such big amount as the money could gather them 2 or more players. There are several better defenders than Maguire. United have already signed Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Ashley Young are already there. Then why invest so much? No doubt Maguire is a great player and so after the exit of Company City had an eye on him but Guardiola is not that stupid that he would make Him the costliest defender in the world.
Just FYI. I want you all to convert £80m into Indian currency. Will surely give a heart attack. 
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Being a United fan I can assure you we need Maguire. Also Aaron wan bissaka is a right back. He will replace ashley young. Chris smalling and Phil Jones are two of the worst cb in the top 6. Daniel James is a winger. We need Maguire and because he is an English man and looking at the madness in transfer market, 60+ is justified but 80 is way too much. Also if we sign Maguire he and lindelof together with Alex tunezbele as a backup and baily would make good sense. In short United does need Maguire but not at 80.
Matthijs de Ligt though good is still a very risky signing. Soccer transfers are very funny. I know de Ligt is a great signing from many perspectives but people often forget one thing. He is just 19 and has have had one just one good season in UCL. There have been several defenders who after sealing a high profile transfer failed in big league. Mangala, otamendi, Kurt zouma, tin jedvaj are few such examples. Mangala was rated so high that Manchester City broke their bank to buy him in a pre neymar area. About 4 - 5 years ago. The costliest defender then unfortunately never lived upto the expectations. Therefore, de Ligt is a costly signing.
Now coming to Maguire, the reasons maguire is so costly because
- He is English and english players are always costlier in epl. Also first choice defender of England.
- Great in air in both boxes, can build one the game from behind. Definetly in top 5 defenders of epl.
- The most important part… He is exactly what United needs and Leicester have no urgency to sell him which has pushed the price up. Also with Maguire, lindelof, Aaron van bissaka and luke Shaw United will finally get a world class defence which will compliment each other. Therefore his price has gone up drastically. Any other points from any other guy would be welcome
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That’s where lies the art of diamond mining and cutting. 
As mentioned by @Hemant, United had identified this diamond in 2013 but couldn’t honour his value then. And today after 6 years they are willing to shell out 20x more with a risk of depreciating future value. Is it desperation or would it be a value added move that only time can tell.
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I see your point there. But to say Maguire doesn’t belong in the Top 10 or even Top 20 list of CBs around the world is something that I don’t agree to.
There’s a reason why Manchester City wanted him at the CB position. Since Vincent Kompany has called it quits, City must have figured that Maguire would be the one carry on the baton of responsibility of guarding the backline.
But we all know Manchester City have an abundance of players who can contribute to the team in attack or in defense through the business that they’ve done in the recent past. Let’s not forget that they aren’t going through a “crisis” like their neighbours are.
Meanwhile Leicester City know that Manchester United or Manchester City, or even Liverpool for that matter would be the ultimate destination of any English born player, since there’s a rarity of those players in the Spanish, Italian, German league.
Yes Kevin Trippier did get transferred to Atleticio Madrid but it was for a meager amount of 25 million. As long as De Ligt is concerned, we all would have loved it to have him in out club. But if you look at the complete picture, De Ligt’s just 19 years of age, who captained Ajax in a league which is nowhere close to the popularity of the other leagues around the world. Yes he did make an impact in the UCL last season along with the rest of the players, but Juventus is far from being De Ligt’s “ultimate destination.”
He’s going to spend good years at Juve, he’s going to be in the radar of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and will eventually get bought for a higher price than Harry Magurie before he reaches 25. Especially, while considering his agent who goes by the name of Mino Riola.
67 million for De Ligt at 19 means close to a 100 million when he’s in his mid-twenties. So one has to say that it’s a smart business from Leicester’s point of view as they see Harry Maguire being in the Manchester United squad for a long time to come
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That’s the thing with transfers! Your question only can be answered in hindsight.
So many high priced deals proved disasters. A manager can’t be too careful when spending too much on a star. There are things that can go wrong. The star may not fit well with your present squad, playing style or just the place. Or player just may loose his form.
Harry Maguire is one of the world’s best without a shadow of a doubt. Maguire simply might not be of the caliber to deserve the tag of most expensive defender in history.
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That’ll only happen if he proves his worth. For Juve, now the only thing they want is UCL. Their home trophy and domestic cup is already theirs. Ronaldo now wants a UCL at any cost in Turin. So you can see Buffon coming in Rabiot, Ramsey coming in. De Ligt no doubt will a diamond for Juve for the coming years. But haven’t we seen one season wonders?
But frankly i find De Ligt better than Maguire.
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In terms of potential and leadership qualities, De Ligt’s right up there, and yes Juve are the hot contenders for the UCL this season. I guess it just has to be the Cristiano Ronaldo effect as well. A player who’s had Champions League medals for breakfast would always want the rest of the players around him to have that same hunger. Juve as a club is being backed right at the top from the owners to the players, and their transfer policies send a massive statement to the rest of the clubs as to how half the battle is won outside the football field. In spite of ‘Football inflation’ they’ve got two quality midfielders for free, Cristiano Ronaldo was a bargain last season, Buffon back to his boyhood club and De Ligt for 67 million. Though Maguire is a quality CB as well, but other clubs can take advantage of United’s underwhelming situation and make sure that they get enough money out of them.
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At 80 million, his value is more than Virgil Van Dijk despite being half the player. He is being overvalued by Manchester United
