Leicester City have rejected Manchester United’s £70million offer for Harry Maguire, according to Sky Sports News.
Manchester United moved ahead of rivals City in the chase for the England international increasing their bid from the initial £65m that both teams had indicated they would be willing to pay for the defender.
But Leicester have made it clear they are not interested in selling at that price, especially after seeing the red devils pay £50m to get Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who they feel cannot compare to Maguire in international quality and experience.
Leicester’s owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha would need to personally sign off any deal for Harry Maguire, who still has four years left on his deal and is seen as an important player in their team.
Maguire – along with all of the club’s other international players – was not among the group who returned to begin pre-season training schedule on Monday at their training complex.
It is still unknown if the central defender will join his team-mates on Sunday when they head to Évian-les-Bains for six days of training.
United’s chances of landing Maguire may be influenced by City’s Nicolas Otamendi, who was expected to leave the Etihad this summer window for Atletico Madrid. However, he may reconsider his decision after the exit of club captain Vincent Kompany.
Leicester’s position has always been that they have no interest or need to sell and would only consider an offer in excess of the £75 million fee paid by Liverpool for former Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.
However, they will welcome the possibility of two big clubs in the Premier League bidding against each other for one of their most prized assets.
One big factor behind United’s interest in Maguire will no doubt have been their lack of quality in defence, with the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones surely not good enough for the club.
Last season was a poor one for United, who conceded 54 league goals – their highest goals-against record in the Premier League era and finished without a trophy.
It remains to be seen if Maguire will head to Old Trafford ahead of the Etihad this summer.
