Indeed, we are discussing a new deal with the former captain to keep him at Old Trafford for one more year. His current contract expires in June next year meaning that he could stay until 2027.
This news is coming out from the Fabrizio Romano who said that "Manchester United are in talks with Harry Maguire over new deal with existing contract due to expire in June.
Face to face meeting with his camp took place in the recent days and more will follow to discuss conditions.
MUFC happy with Maguire’s contribution + leadership."
I don't like this 😐. I don't think it's the right decision in terms of where we want to go as a club. This has nothing to do with Maguire himself but I just feel that if we want to truly move forward, we HAVE to let go of such players.
You can say that the 32-year-old has been a good servant for the club and has come through some tough times mainly 2020 until 2023. He faced a lot of ridicule throughout these years and even lost the captaincy not long after.
In a weird way though, you can say that these things sort of helped Harry into shaping him into the character he is today. While those memes and jokes may not have been great, sometimes, going through such times can make you stronger and I believe it had that effect on Maguire.
We've seen him move past this with utter professionalism and even with the armband stripped off him and given to Bruno Fernandes, the defender came through with flying colours, almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
He started to focus more on his football and in the last couple of years, we've seen the best of him in a United shirt.
Admittedly though, I simply do not think he's good enough to play for our club and where we want to be. As a squad player, he can do a job but ideally even then, you still want better quality coming off your bench.
He is also coming towards the end of his career as at 32, he doesn't have much time left and especially at this level.
Where I will give him his flowers is not only in coming through that tough period but also how he's surprised me in terms of having the character to face that and come out on top. Most would crumble and I thought he would to.
Harry has also displayed some brilliant performances scoring some vitally important goals most notably his late winner in last season's Europa League quarter final against Lyon.
Despite the ending to that tournament, it will always be a highlight as one of the greatest moments in our recent history.
Amorim has made him part of his six-man leadership group and as per Romano, that leadership is one of the reasons as to why this new contract is on the table.
Again, we can look at what he's gone through and being able to come out the other side as a form of leadership because that takes a strong mindset.
But for me, a leader has to be more than that.
A leader is someone who demands respect, has been there and done it, is great at their job and has won the biggest trophies. Maguire has none of these things. I don't think he demands respect as much as say someone like Casemiro who is perhaps the closest example we have to a player that I feel is the ideal leader.
The Brazilian has been there and done it, he's played at the highest level for his entire career, he was the best CDM in football for one of the greatest teams of our generation and he has literally won everything including those five Champions League's.
If only he could play like prime Casemiro 😔.
Maguire has been part of several teams who have failed, hasn't won that many trophies, and for majority of his five years at the club, has been closer to poor performances than regular good ones.
I don't find that he is much of a leader as well in terms of that demand for respect and everyone listening to him when he speaks. I feel a leader has to have this aura about them not just in terms of what they've done in their careers but in terms of the way they carry themselves. Martinez is a great example here.
The butcher walks with his back straight and his chest out as the way he carries himself is one of a man who means business and isn't taking no shit. You don't get called 'the butcher' if you aren't like this. He hasn't won as much as a Casemiro although lifting the World Cup does help.
Amorim has used the ex-skipper more than I thought he would. Those two games after the derby told me that he is still highly valued in this side. But when you look at his performances in those two matches, you can see that he simply does not fill the bill of what is required to play in this side and in this setup. The manager did throw him under the bus however, by leaving him as last man on a couple of occasions which exposed his lack of speed but this is exactly what I mean. You can afford to do this with pretty much all our other centre-backs whereas with Harry, you're asking for trouble.
Those are the reasons as to why I don't think he's good enough as a player and leader but it really shouldn't be up to him with this contract. I'm sure he would love to stay but the club should be making the decision.
This is what truly sets us back. The club's lack of ambition is why we will never truly return to who we once were and who we want to get back to being in the future.
Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot are all players of the past. All of them have played through multiple managers and let's be completely honest, other than Bruno, the other three have never been consistently good enough. Most other top clubs would've gotten rid of them already yet we've kept them and also made them part of the leadership group.
Amorim has to take blame as well given the fact that he wants these players to be his liutenants and relies on them a lot. He should've seen that they're not good enough.
I spoke about the problem with the leadership group here. I would give it a read because there are some top points in there.
But this is where the club have to tell Ruben that these players can't be trusted. They might be nice guys and they might have been around for a long time in football but that doesn't mean anything. Nice guys finish last and they are more expereinced in failure than success.
Why keep such players?
Man City do it right. They recently removed Ederson, Ilkay Gundogan (again) and Kevin de Bruyne. That was just this past transfer window. We've also seen the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and Raheem Sterling go in the last two years.
These were all serial winners and had been around for a long time. Some were even in their prime yet City were happy to move them on anyway.
This shows their ambition. These players were deemed not part of their plans and the club said goodbye. And again, even if they're coming towards the end of their careers, someone like current KDB is still better than most of our squad.
City let him go.
Not only do we not let players of this same ilk not leave but we make them part of our leadership group and look to extend their contracts.
Maguire has been as good a player as one of his quality could've been at United. I didn't expect him to be prime Maldini and looking back, he's been the level I thought he would be: okay.
Not many will agree with this assessment that Maguire has been 'okay' in his five years at United but if you're being completely honest with yourself, is he the quality you want in this squad? Is he the type of leader you want to lead the next generation?
If this is so, then I'm afraid you're much like the club and have no ambition. Sorry to be so blunt.
We need to move on from these type of players and try to look to the future. The Maguires, Brunos and Dalots of this world will NOT take us to where we want to be and we'll continue in this cycle of never reaching the heights we used to reach.
Harry Maguire new deal? Not for me ❌.
Harry Maguire could be set to stay at Man Utd for an extra year | Harry Maguire: Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images via Stretty News