Manchester United have made a number of transfer mistakes over the years, and no manager has been immune. One player is working hard to redefine his career.
Some players have struggled at Manchester United since the day they arrived. Go back to early 2018 and Alexis Sanchez famously admitted he thought he made a mistake joining Jose Mourinho’s side mid-season from Arsenal.
Jadon Sancho looked off the pace from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford and was unable to string two good games together, and that was before he removed himself from contention for the first team at the start of the 2023 season.
Harry Maguire’s case has been quite different. The centre-back arrived under a major spotlight amid a £80 million move from Leicester City that ranks as the club’s third most expensive of all time.
Maguire has been through it all, lifting trophies, being stripped of the captaincy, turned into a walking meme and even mocked in the Ghanaian parliament, while also turning into an emergency striker who scored a goal that nearly tore the roof off Old Trafford against Lyon.
The centre-back’s career at the club has been a rollercoaster, which started off impressively. United’s new signings in 2025 should be looking back on Harry Maguire’s start at the club for a perfect example.
Manchester United Unveil New Signing Harry Maguire, pictured with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Harry Maguire won Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over from day one
Harry Maguire was at the centre of a typically drawn out transfer saga back in early 2019. Ed Woodward ended up backing down and meeting the £80 million Leicester City demanded, with the entire fee paid in one instalment.
This meant Maguire had less than a week before going into Manchester United’s starting line-up at home to Chelsea.
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Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer piled on the pressure by making Maguire the club captain, and it did not hold him back.
The new signing delivered a perfect debut as Solskjaer’s United blew Chelsea away with a 4-0 home win, immediately winning fans over.
Speaking after the game, Solskjaer said Maguire’s arrival had ‘lifted everyone’ and added to the competition for places.
Sky Sports picked Maguire out as the man of the match, noting: “As perfect debuts go, this was only missing a goal. Maguire looked right at home in the United defence, making more interceptions than anyone on the pitch and more clearances too.”
Speaking one month later amid a run of underwhelming results that followed including a 1-1 draw at Wolves, a 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, and a 1-1 draw with Southampton, Solskjaer’s view of Harry Maguire’s impact had only strengthened by working more closely with him.
Ahead of a 1-0 win at home to Maguire’s former club Leicester, Solskjaer raved about what he had seen from the England international.
The Manchester United boss told a press conference: “I think he’s been brilliant. I think he’s come into the dressing room and been a leader. He’s also obviously a leader on the pitch, you can see that.
“He is definitely a character and a personality that can be a captain of a big club, yeah, and he’s a leader in the dressing room, by performances, presence, stature and behaviour.
“He’s a character that you’d say you’d like to follow. Some are technical leaders, some are leaders by voice and he’s got the lot really.”
£80 million fee remains divisive but Harry Maguire has earned respect
Over the following six years, Harry Maguire’s form and fortunes have fluctuated, and he would be the first to admit it has been a rollercoaster. But amid it all, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s words about him ring true.
Entering the 2025/26 season, Maguire has never shied away from a challenge, putting his body on the line for the club, to the extent that it cost him the chance to compete for selection in the 2024 FA Cup Final.
Maguire has now played 246 games for Manchester United, ranking 93rd all time in appearances.
The £80 million fee Manchester United paid for Maguire will always be viewed divisively, but the longer he stays at the club, fights for his place and contributes, the better value for money the club get out of the investment.
Maguire has been a leader and an example to follow from day one, and this experience will be invaluable for Manchester United’s new signings, who all arrive with the pressure of high fees, expectations, and scrutiny.