Man Utd defender Harry Maguire is out of contract at the end of the season, but he must be kept beyond the summer.
A view of the United dressing room.(Image: 2026 Manchester United FC)
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Manchester United were mocked for spending £80million on Harry Maguire in the summer of 2019. Maguire had been excellent for Leicester City, but £80m seemed like an incredibly steep price tag.
Seven years later, you can make a case that Manchester United got value for money. Maguire has been through peaks and troughs during his time in Manchester, but the England international has delivered consistently strong performances since a challenging 2021/22 campaign.
Maguire's career has been a story of resilience, and the difficult moments have contributed to the character he is today. He is a leader at Carrington and sets an example to young players.
"Harry's an impressive character. He's had a great career so far," said Michael Carrick last month. "Hopefully there's a lot more to come. He has been here in the journey and the experiences that he's had, certainly since he's been here and with England as well. I think it shows exactly what he is.
"I think we all know the player that he is and what he's capable of doing. Again, the other night there, I thought he was fantastic. Experience helps, and his attributes help with that, and his character, his willingness to put himself out there, and he is really impressive, and he has been really important for us."
Carrick was asked about Maguire because his contract expires at the end of the season. "I think within the squad there's always that balance, you want that younger potential and that excitement of developing players and helping players, you need that little sweet spot in the middle where players are at the peak, you certainly need that within the group," Carrick said.
"Experience is massive, it's hard to put a price on how valuable that can be. Whether that's individuals, whether that's experience as a whole group, but Harry's gained an awful lot of experience in different ways through this club, and Case leaving is another one with experience, and it's something we've got to obviously understand and what that means."
Carrick values Maguire's experience.(Image: 2026 James Gill - Danehouse)
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Carrick suggested Maguire could be better than ever. "There's a case, I think," he said. "I think as your career goes, when you're a young player, everything is fresh, and everything is new, and you're fearless, and there aren't many scars there, so you're full of excitement.
"You get to your peak years, which is kind of where you're at and you feel good and everything's there, but obviously you've had a few ups and downs along the way and then I think you start getting towards the later times and the experience that you've gained then makes you a better player or should make you a better player from learning from that.
"I think we've seen that with Harry's performances of late, with what he's brought to the team, and he's been so important, as well as many others. I think that's why experience is important to use it.
"I certainly felt that when I was playing that it was it was 30, 31, 32 that probably was was my best my best years really just being at that sweet spot of being able to do it physically still, but using the kind of experiences to know what's coming and probably seeing a bit of everything by that stage so it's not a surprise."
Diogo Dalot echoed that sentiment when he spoke to reporters after winning against Crystal Palace. "I think he's been showing during his career how strong he is mentally and physically and when he is in a good state of mind, and when he's good physically with a good run of games I think is one of the best centre backs in the league," said Dalot.
"So I'm pretty sure that if he shows a good level, if it helps the team, it will be no problem for the club to keep him, but it's not my decision, ultimately it will between them. But we're very happy with him."
Maguire provides leadership, experience, quality in defence and a commanding presence when dealing with aerial balls. The importance of set-pieces has increased in the Premier League, and it's important that United retain the best player at dealing with aerial balls in the dressing room.
Some pundits said United made an expensive mistake by signing Maguire for £80m. They have been proved wrong. It would be a costly mistake not to extend Maguire's contract, though.