EXCLUSIVE
Harry Maguire was on David Moyes’ radar at Manchester United a decade ago and now close to West Ham switch link up
David Moyes is set to bring Harry Maguire to West Ham after initially being drawn to the defender a decade ago.
The Hammers agreed a £30million fee with Manchester United on Wednesday and are confident of quickly wrapping up the deal with personal terms not believed to be an issue.
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United will take a substantial hit on the defender who signed for a whopping £80m from Leicester City in 2019.
But after having slipped down the pecking order under boss Erik ten Hag, the former United captain looks set to link up with Moyes who revealed Maguire had been on his radar since discovering the England star back in 2013.
Moyes admitted his interest in a young Maguire but an embarrassment of riches in central defence prevented him bringing the defender to Old Trafford shortly after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson.
“We didn’t try and sign him but we flagged him up because at that time I was very aware of all the players in the world leagues and made a good career out of bringing them to Everton,” Moyes told talkSPORT in 2019.
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“Harry Maguire was one I recognised. He played against Preston North End at home in a league game and I watched him and I thought he played really well but at that time he was really big build-wise.
“To be fair he looks in terrific shape. He’s not changed at all really.
“When I went to United it wasn’t what we needed. We had [Nemanja] Vidic, Rio [Ferdinand], Jonny Evans. We had Michael Keane who was a young boy, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
“So buying another centre-half at the time wasn’t really the biggest thing we needed and if you’re honest, I think Harry Maguire’s had to go on his journey.
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“Sometimes the players need to journey to get to where they have to go.”
Maguire’s impending switch to the London Stadium could reignite a career that has gone stale at club level.
The 30-year-old has become a target for the boo-boys following a string of high-profile errors but has continued to be a mainstay for England despite reduced game time.
But with Euro 2024 on the horizon, regular minutes are likely to cement Gareth Southgate’s decision to include him in next summer's squad.
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