Harry Maguire hopes for a good reception at Sheffield United when he returns with Manchester United this weekend.
Certainly better than the one he received from Leicester City, whose supporters taunted him earlier this season. Maguire left the Foxes for Old Trafford in an £80m deal this summer. And when the Red Devils won 1-0 against Leicester in September, some fans jeered from the stands.
Yet Maguire has a stronger connection with the Blades, having come through the academy at Bramall Lane. Although the centre-back left for Hull City in 2014 aged just 21, he had already played 166 times for his boyhood club.
Back then the South Yorkshire side were in League One. Now they are back in the Premier League after a 12-year absence and are preparing to host Man United.
“I’ll be back at Bramall Lane and I’m sure I’ll get a better reception than I did from the Leicester fans when they came to Old Trafford!” Maguire told the Mirror.
“They’ve been great with me ever since, the Sheffield United fans, so I’ve got a lot to thank them for. The crowd got right on my side.
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“Sheffield United have started great in the Premier League but, when we play them, it’s going to be business for me.
“I’ll be trying to get the three points off them but then hope they win every other game, apart from the ones against us.”
Has Harry Maguire faced the Blades before?
Maguire left for Hull on the back of playing against them in the FA Cup semi-final. However, the England international never lined up against his former team for the Tigers.
That is because Maguire left for the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2017. A few weeks later the defender returned to Bramall Lane, playing in a 4-1 win for his new team in the League Cup.
Later that same season, Maguire was on the winning side against the Blades again. This time Leicester won 1-0 at home in the FA Cup.