MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE been urged to rekindle their interest in Harry Maguire, with Teddy Sheringham claiming the Leicester City defender could be their version of Vincent Kompany or Tony Adams.
The Red Devils have long been linked with the England international. Jose Mourinho was said to be keen on doing a deal in the summer of 2018, but saw his final transfer window at Old Trafford close with no additions made at centre-half.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to address those supposed frailties 12 months on, with United considered to be in need of “leadership”.
Sheringham believes Maguire would be a shrewd addition, with the 26-year-old boasting similar qualities to iconic former captains of Manchester City and Arsenal.
“Central defence is a big area where they need to find a Vincent Kompany or Tony Adams-type player,” former United striker Sheringham told The Mirror. “I think Harry Maguire is the one for me. He’s got great leadership qualities, and has a real calming influence.
“He’s very similar to Rio Ferdinand, in that he’s cool on the ball and defends very well. That would be a fine start from my point of view. Top players like Harry are going to have the choice of some big, big clubs around Europe this summer.”
While being a defender of the mould that United require, Sheringham believes Maguire ticks another important box for the Red Devils. Homegrown talent has played a big part in the club’s past, and the 1999 treble winner wants to see it form part of the future.
“I really believe they should go back to the British mentality. The core of any good, British team, comes from British players, as I see it,” Sheringham added. “Over the last 20 or 30 years, if a British team does well in the league or in Europe, there’s always a core of British players involved.”
While talk of a big-money move continues to swirl around Maguire, he has been doing his best to curb the rumours.
He is currently away with England on Nations League Finals duty and has said of the speculation surrounding his future: “At the moment, nothing’s going through my head in terms of club football. I’m fully focused on the games coming up.”
Gavan Casey is joined by Murray Kinsella and Sean Farrell for a review of the 2018/19 season, and cast an eye forward to next year and the Rugby World Cup in Japan.:
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