Harry Maguire
Manchester United have been urged to tear up Harry Maguire's contract
Manchester United have been told they need to 'write a cheque' to get Harry Maguire to leave and rid the dressing room of 'disease'.
The 32-year-old has experienced a mixed time at Old Trafford since becoming the world's most expensive defender in 2019. The Red Devils forked out £80m to sign Maguire from Leicester, but he came close to leaving for West Ham in the summer of 2023 after struggling to find his feet.
The England star has enjoyed a renaissance under Ruben Amorim this season, leading to the club triggering a one-year extension to his contract in January. The decision was taken after he was initially expected to leave this summer following the expiry of his original deal.
However, despite the uptick in Maguire's form, United are now being urged to pay up his £190,000-a-week contract and send him on his way. The call was made by former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Dean Saunders, who believes widespread changes are needed to 'rid the disease' in the dressing room, with United currently languishing in 14th in the Premier League table.
The ex-Wolves and Wrexham manager said letting Maguire go would enable Amorim to make room for much-needed improvements. Saunders made his comments on talkSPORT after United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe claimed the club would be bankrupt by Christmas this year if he did not introduce controversial cost-cutting measures.
"People don't realise that being backed by an owner of a club is not all about bringing players in," said Saunders. "It's writing cheques to get rid of the disease in the dressing room. If you let that disease keep going, it gets bigger and bigger.
"For example, they've tried to sell Harry Maguire about five times, and obviously nobody can afford his wages. You've got to write a cheque to Harry Maguire and say, 'off you go'. Then at least you've got a dressing room that's all pulling in the same direction. That's just as important as bringing players in."
Antony
Antony has completed a loan move to Real Betis ( Image: Getty Images)
Saunders believes United have struggled to find value for money in the transfer market since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. He highlighted the sum of more than £80million which the club paid to sign winger Antony from Ajax in September 2022 as an example of their failings.
The Brazilian has scored only 12 goals in 96 appearances for United and was sent out on loan to Real Betis in January, with his long-term future up in the air. Saunders said: "If you look back at when Fergie left, they've appointed some really good managers, paying the top wages to every player, and not succeeding for this amount of time.
"They've paid over the odds. Arsenal were getting ripped off in the transfer market but Man United are unbelievable. I don't want to be hyper critical of him, because I know how hard it is to play at that level but look at Antony's transfer fee, and you wonder why you're bankrupt?"
Saunders also suggested the Glazer family would have been delighted at Ratcliffe buying into the club to distract from their own shortcomings. He added: "They must be thinking, 'we've had a right result here because he's taking all the flack'. He's gone to Man United and he must have known that they were in a bit of trouble when he's had a look at the books."
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