Aston Villa 'considering formal bid for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire'

Aston Villa have reportedly identified Manchester United defender Harry Maguire as a potential summer transfer target.

The centre-back has spent the last four years at Old Trafford, chipping in with seven goals from his 175 appearances in all competitions.

However, since featuring in every Premier League fixture during 2019-20, Maguire's involvement in the top flight has dropped each year, particularly during the last campaign.

The 30-year-old was restricted to just eight starts and eight substitute outings, falling down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag and often seeing left-back Luke Shaw preferred to him in the middle.

United do not necessarily have to be in a rush to sell Maguire courtesy of him having two years left on his contract and the club possessing the option of extending those terms by a further 12 months.

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Nevertheless, Ten Hag has already publicly acknowledged that Maguire is unhappy with his current situation and must decide whether he wants to remain at the Theatre of Dreams or look for a move elsewhere.

Earlier this week, it was suggested that Tottenham Hotspur were monitoring the situation, with new head coach Ange Postecoglou needing to make significant changes to a backline that conceded 63 league goals during 2023.

According to Football Insider, Spurs may face competition from Villa who are looking to take advantage of their qualification for Europe.

On the final day of the season, Villa defeated Brighton & Hove Albion to ensure that Spurs missed out on continental football for next season, and Unai Emery is now expected to back that up with some high-profile additions.

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Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte and Villarreal's Pau Torres allegedly both feature on the Spaniard's shortlist, yet so may Maguire with the club having been linked with the England international in January.

The report indicates that Villa are better equipped to handle Maguire's wage demands than Spurs, as well as West Ham United who were crowned as Europa Conference League winners on Wednesday night.

In Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos, Emery already has three players who are genuine contenders to start in the middle of defence on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, with Calum Chambers only a fringe member and a possible consideration for backup at right-back, a fresh face for the centre is seemingly on Emery's priority list.