The Manchester United midfielder came close to sealing a move to West Ham during the summer transfer window.
West Ham United coach Kevin Nolan has shed light on the near-signing of Harry Maguire from Manchester United during the summer transfer window.
The saga that gripped football fans ended with Maguire remaining at Old Trafford, leaving many to wonder why the much-anticipated move fell through.
Maguire’s situation at Manchester United had been precarious, with his falling out of favour under manager Erik ten Hag and the subsequent removal of his captaincy. Nevertheless, Maguire’s status as a trusted England international ensured substantial interest in him during the transfer window.
West Ham emerged as frontrunners for Maguire’s signature and engaged in weeks of negotiations, eventually agreeing to a £30 million fee with Manchester United.
The deal appeared to be a win-win situation for all parties involved. However, reports suggested that personal terms could not be finalized, and Maguire showed little interest in the move, not even engaging in a conversation with manager David Moyes.
In an interview on talkSPORT, Nolan discussed more details about the failed transfer: “I think it was very close, I was a bit upset that we didn’t make it [happen].
“I think it was just in the end, the money didn’t get sorted from what I can gather which is obviously upsetting from our behalf because we wanted to [sign him].
“Probably upsetting from Harry’s behalf and probably United’s behalf as well.
“I think the gaffer [Moyes] was in contact with Harry, his agent and everything else but yeah, obviously we then had to move onto our next target.”
Despite fans’ frustration, Maguire stayed at Old Trafford, where he remains useful to Ten Hag due to an injury crisis in the defence. The collapse of the deal led West Ham to sign Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart instead, likely ending their pursuit of Maguire in January.
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