Manchester United have reportedly agreed to pay Harry Maguire £6m to leave the club, with the centre-back on the verge of making the move to West Ham United.
The Hammers are believed to have come to an agreement with Man United over a £30m deal for the 30-year-old, with only the smaller details needing to be finalised before a deal is confirmed.
According to The Sun, Maguire will drop his wages from £190,000 a week to £120,000 a week when he officially joins West Ham, but the defender has received a £6m pay-off from the Red Devils.
The report claims that the England international knew that his time at the club had finished when he had the captain's armband taken away from him and handed to Bruno Fernandes.
Everton and Newcastle United are among the clubs to have also been credited with an interest in the former Sheffield United youngster this summer, but West Ham are nearing his signature.
© Reuters
Maguire did not feature in Man United's pre-season clash against Lens at Old Trafford on Saturday, which involved arguably Erik ten Hag's strongest XI.
The defender instead played for the second string against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, and he was booed by sections of the stadium in Dublin.
A loose pass from Maguire led to Nico Williams scoring for Athletic in the pre-season clash, and the game with the Basque outfit will prove to his final outing for the 20-time English champions.
The centre-back is unlikely to be signed in time to make his West Ham debut against Bournemouth on Saturday, but he could potentially feature in the clash with Chelsea on August 20.
© Reuters
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane will start the campaign as Man United's first-choice centre-backs once again providing that they are both fit and available.
Victor Lindelof is next in line, but the club will sign a Maguire replacement once a deal has been confirmed, with Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard and Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo both seen as genuine options.
Maguire will leave Man United having represented the club on 175 occasions in all competitions following a move from Leicester City in the summer of 2019.
The defender was a regular during his first three seasons at the club but lost his starting role last term following a disappointing start to the campaign.
Maguire featured on just 16 occasions in the Premier League last season, only eight of which were starts, and he needs regular football in the new campaign to keep hold of his starting role for England at Euro 2024.
Matt Law
