Man Utd will reportedly look to sell Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian in order to help raise the £65m needed for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
The Red Devils are seemingly well stocked in the defensive department, with Jose Mourinho able to call upon the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Rojo for the central positions.
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However, the Portuguese tactician continues to be linked with a move for Maguire, with The Mirror noting that it could cost United up to £65m to prise the England international away from the King Power Stadium.
In order to raise the necessary funds to launch a bid though, it’s added that both Rojo and Darmian could essentially be sacrificed with Mourinho appearing to sensibly be considering exits first to make room for a new arrival in the backline.
Given Maguire’s defensive solidity, physicality, aerial threat and technical quality in possession, the 25-year-old would undoubtedly be a top addition to the Man Utd squad as he has continued to go from strength to strength in recent years for both club and country.
After producing a string of impressive displays for England at the World Cup earlier this summer, his stock has arguably never been higher, and so it’s no real surprise that he is attracting reported interest from the likes of United.
It remains to be seen if the pieces fall into place for a move to Old Trafford to materialise, but as far as the touted strategy of axing players first to raise the money required and to make room in the side given the abundance of options Mourinho has in that area, it seems like a sensible one from the Man Utd boss should he go on and land Maguire’s signature.