Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing a surprise move for Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire, with the England international seemingly in need of a change of scenery following his slide down the pecking order of late.
What's the latest on Maguire to Tottenham?
According to reports in Spain, the Lilywhites are believed to be accelerating their interest in the 30-year-old amid the ongoing search for new centre-back recruits, with the former Leicester City man potentially set to be up for grabs having only recently been stripped of the captaincy at Old Trafford.
This follows previous claims made by 90min following Ange Postecoglou's appointment which suggested that the Greek-Aussie had given his approval of the club's interest in both Maguire and Manchester City's, Aymeric Laporte.
Despite the United man's recent demotion under Erik ten Hag, it looks as if the Red Devils could still demand a fee of around £50m if they are to cash in this summer, with that potentially set to prove a rather hefty sum as far as the north London outfit are concerned.
How much is Harry Maguire worth?
That £50m price tag does appear to be particularly steep considering the Englishman's woes of late at the Theatre of Dreams, with the £190k-per-week dud having started just eight Premier League games last season following the signing of Lisandro Martinez.
Branded a "walking disaster" by journalist Samuel Luckhurst after also enduring a miserable 2021/22 campaign, the Sheffield native hardly looks like a player who commanded an £80m sum four years ago, with United forking out a world-record fee to prise him from the King Power Stadium.
Such has been his decline of late, the 6 foot 3 asset is now said to be worth as little as €20m (£17m) according to CIES Football Observatory, with Postecoglou and co perhaps needing to think again before offering Maguire a lifeline this summer.
Should Tottenham sign Harry Maguire?
If a deal for the 57-cap brute is to go ahead over the coming weeks, it could well see Tottenham simply snap up another version of Eric Dier, with the two compatriots both rather underwhelming figures who have been far from at their best of late.
In the case of Dier, while the 29-year-old played through injury for much of last season, he was still a regular fixture in a side that had the sixth-worst defensive record in the division, having started 31 games in the league in total.
As journalist Ryan Taylor stated, the former Sporting CP man is "just nowhere near the required level for what Spurs are trying to achieve", while the experienced defender was also criticised by pundit Jermaine Jenas earlier this year after failing to deal with a rampant Marcus Rashford, with the ex-Tottenham midfielder stating:
"His obsession to constantly back off, I can only put it down to him thinking he has a lack of pace and he's panicking."
That 'lack of pace' appears to be something that is shared by Maguire, with The Guardian having reported last season that Ten Hag was looking to move on the then-club captain due to his 'sluggish pace', making him something of a liability at times in the backline.
That likeness between the pair can also be seen by their lack of composure on the ball as Maguire ranks in just the top 48% among his European peers for pass completion, while Dier ranks in the top 40% in that regard.
Equally, the latter man is arguably not the most adept at breaking up play and winning back possession as he ranks in just the bottom 11% for tackles made, while Maguire is only just ahead as he ranks in the bottom 14% for that same metric.
With Dier himself having even been linked with a departure from N17 of late – with just a year left on his current contract – it would seemingly make little sense to replace one floundering figure with another, in the form of Maguire.
