Man United desperate to prevent defender from leaving for free

Manchester United will hope to record their first win of the Europa League campaign when they face Porto on Thursday evening. 

The Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw by Dutch side FC Twente in the first round of fixtures last week, and manager Erik ten Hag will be desperate to see his side put three more points on the board when they visit Portugal.

Pressure appears to once again be growing on Ten Hag, with United having won just three of their nine matches across all competitions so far this season.

While Ten Hag prepares his side to face Porto on Thursday, it has emerged that the club have made a significant decision on the future of one of their most experienced players.

As per Football Insider, the Manchester club are desperate to ensure defender Harry Maguire doesn’t leave the club for free next summer.

Maguire is currently in the final year of his contract at United

Maguire’s current deal is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, although United do have the option to extend the deal by a further 12 months.

The Englishman joined United form Leicester City back in 2019 and has since played more than 200 times for the club across all competitions.

He had fallen out of favour somewhat over the past couple of seasons, but the 31-year-old has been involved in four of their six Premier League games so far this term.

While United do have the option to extend Maguire’s current deal, the report claims that the Red Devils will instead attempt to find him a new club during the upcoming January window, in order to avoid having to activate the clause.

Last year the centre-back came close to joining fellow Premier League side West Ham United, but the player himself was unwilling to take a cut on his reported £190,000-per-week wages.