Manchester United have entered the race to sign Leicester City defender Harry Maguire, reports say.
The Red Devils will go to war with Manchester City to secure the transfer in the summer, with Maguire putting in a host of eye-catching performances this season.
Maguire seamlessly stepped into the Leicester City defence after a £17million move last summer and his form has helped him break into Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
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Leicester value Maguire at around £50m and the centre-back has been regularly watched by the Premier League leaders since becoming a Fox.
City splashed out a club-record fee on Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte last month, but are still on the hunt for further additions to their defence.
Magurie fits the bill as a ball playing defender and Pep Guardiola has been impressed by the Englishman’s consistency this season.
Manchester United 2017/18 Fixtures
Newcastle (A) – Sun Feb 11
Birmingham or Huddersfield (A) – Sat Feb 17 (FA Cup)
Sevilla (A) – Wed Feb 21 (Champions League)
Chelsea (H) – Sun Feb 25
Crystal Palace (A) – Sun Mar 3
Liverpool (H) – Sat Mar 10
Sevilla (H) – Tue Mar 13 (Champions League)
But, Jose Mourinho too has been keeping a close eye on Maguire and thinks the 24-year-old will be able to compete with Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling for a spot in United’s back four.
Mourinho said this week he would not be spending big money on more attackers when the summer window opened and instead would be focusing on strengthening his defence.
Leicester are braced for a bidding war to erupt for Maguire’s signature and City are expected to go toe-to-toe with United, according to the Mirror.
Manchester City 2017/18 Fixtures
Leicester City (H) – Sat Feb 10
FC Basel (A) – Tues Feb 13 (Champions League)
Arsenal (N) – Sun Feb 25 (EFL Cup)
Arsenal (A) – Thurs March 1
Chelsea (H) – Sun March 4
FC Basel (H) – Wed March 7 (Champions League)
City have already lost one transfer battle with United, having been beaten to the signing of Alexis Sanchez by their local rivals.
Sanchez opted to join United over City after the Red Devils agreed to match his wage demands.
Maguire signed a long-term deal with Leicester last summer and is under contract until 2022.
