Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has revealed the club considered signing Harry Maguire from Sheffield United in 2013.
Maguire has just become the most expensive defender of all time, signed by the Red Devils from Leicester City for £80m (BBC).
Yet they could have saved themselves a lot of money and snapped up the England international from his boyhood side. At the time Maguire was just 20-years-old, but was already an established figure for the Blades in League One.
However, there was one thing that was concerning Moyes about the centre-back.
“He played against Preston North End at home in a league game and I watched him and thought he played really well but at that time he was really big,” the 56-year-old told Talksport.
“You thought ‘my goodness, how big is Harry going to be’ because he was a relatively young boy at that time.”
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How much Maguire would have cost from Sheffield United at the time
It’s interesting to note that Moyes takes the credit for scouting the Blades academy player. The Scot cites his history in bringing players such as Tim Cahill to the Premier League from the lower divisions.
Yet a 2013 report from the Mirror states that it was actually Sir Alex Ferguson who first identified Maguire’s talent. Ferguson had him monitored on a regular basis during the 2012/13 campaign after spotting his potential.
After Fergie retired in the summer of 2013 and handed over control to Moyes, his scouting reports went with him.
It was reported that Man United were considering a swoop for Maguire in January 2014. Apparently it would have cost around £4m at the time to land him.
Whether or not that means the Blades were quoting an inflated price to the then English champions is unclear. But Maguire did join Hull City the following summer for just £2.5m (BBC).