Aston Villa 'have not agreed deal with Manchester United's Harry Maguire'

Aston Villa reportedly have no deal in place to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United.

The 29-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford and is being tipped to head for the exit door during the current calendar year.

Maguire still wears the captain's armband for Erik ten Hag's side, but he has made a mere four starts in the Premier League this season, as well as one Europa League match.

Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez tend to form Ten Hag's first-choice centre-back pairing when fully fit, while Luke Shaw has also filled in at the heart of the backline recently.

Reports earlier on Sunday had claimed that Aston Villa were on the verge of completing a deal for Maguire, who is under contract at Old Trafford until 2025 with the option of an additional year.

© Reuters

However, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, there is nothing going on between Maguire and Villa, and the defender is expected to remain in Manchester for the remainder of the season.

It has already been suggested that the Red Devils will not allow the England international to leave midway through the season, although his future beyond the summer remains unclear.

Maguire has made just 13 appearances for Man United in all tournaments this term, taking his total for the club to 157 outings since arriving from Leicester City for £80m in 2019.

The centre-back has posted seven goals and five assists for Man United in that time, and he started every game for England during their run to the World Cup 2022 quarter-finals.

Maguire only came off the bench for the final seven minutes of his side's 3-1 win over Everton in the FA Cup on Friday, but he captained the Red Devils to a 3-0 Premier League win over Bournemouth last week.

© Reuters

Following the success over the Cherries, Maguire's centre-back partner Victor Lindelof waxed lyrical about the Englishman, telling MUTV: "It is nice to be back. It's always nice to get some minutes in the legs and to help the team get the three points.

"It felt good physically and, obviously, I have played a lot of games with 'H' [Harry Maguire] so I thought he worked well today. We played a lot of games together and I think he is a fantastic player and he performed at a very high level today."

Nevertheless, former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand has urged Maguire to look elsewhere for regular playing time, telling BT Sport: "If I'm Harry Maguire, I'm looking for a new club right now.

"This new manager [Ten Hag] is showing by his team selection that he is not going to be one of the two, three top centre-backs at this club."

Maguire could return to the starting lineup when Man United host Charlton Athletic in Tuesday's EFL Cup quarter-final showdown at Old Trafford.