According to a number of tabloid reports across England, including The Mirror, The Daily Star, The Express, and The Sun, Manchester United has come to an agreement with Leicester City for a world record fee to complete a long-rumored deal to send Harry Maguire to Old Trafford.
The reports all claim the deal is worth $100 million, making Harry Maguire the most expensive defender in the world. The rumored fee would surpass the $96 million Liverpool paid for Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk. The up-front value is $88 million, with the rest to come later in add-ons.
The reports claim a medical is scheduled for Monday and the deal will be announced shortly after assuming all goes well.
Maguire has been linked heavily with Manchester United this summer, and Manchester City was connected two, with both clubs reportedly seeing bids of $88 million rejected by the Foxes this summer. Reports emerged recently that Maguire was unsettled by the rejected bids, with the club holding out for $113 million, but it appears Manchester United was ready to meet in the middle. Maguire was apparently annoyed that Leicester City was unfairly keeping him from a move up despite bids already in that topped the supposed value of highly touted Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, with Maguire also reportedly claiming the club had told him upon penning a new five-year contract last summer that they would not turn down a fair offer.
The 26-year-old England international fills a position of need for the Red Devils, who conceded 54 goals last campaign, the second-most of any team in the top half of the Premier League table. However, Manchester United will likely have to offload a number of central defenders this summer to balance the squad, with Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo, and Axel Tuanzebe all already on the books.
Maguire would become the third signing of the summer for Manchester United behind Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
