Maguire accepts Man Utd stay as club block summer exit

Manchester United shut the door on any possibility of Harry Maguire leaving Old Trafford this summer, though the defender admits he has little desire to walk away at this stage of his career, Sport360NG reports.

United triggered a one-year extension on Maguire’s contract in January, with head coach Ruben Amorim emphasising at the time that his squad was “starved of leaders.” Unlike similar cases in the past, the decision was not about protecting the player’s transfer value but rather underlining his importance to the team.

Maguire revealed there was interest from other clubs during the recent window, but United made it clear he was not available.

“Last year the clause was in their hands. There was no discussion, they simply activated it,” he explained. “This summer, a couple of clubs enquired, but the response from United was immediate, I wasn’t going anywhere.”

The 32-year-old, who joined from Leicester City for £80m in 2019, now has a deal that runs until next summer, meaning he will be free to speak to other clubs in January. He previously turned down a move to West Ham after United had accepted a bid two years ago.

Although Maguire has his own thoughts on what comes next, he is not ready to make them public. For now, he says he is encouraged by the direction of the club under minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, new technical director Jason Wilcox and Amorim.

“Of course, conversations will come in the next few months about my future and if the club want to extend,” he said. “I know what I’d like to do, but I don’t feel it’s the time to say that. What I will say is United is a massive club and you’d be silly to want to leave it quickly.

“The changes behind the scenes have transformed the structure since I first arrived six years ago. We’re in a much stronger position now, and the future feels positive.”

United, who endured their worst league campaign in decades last season, opened the new Premier League season with a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.