£50m Harry Maguire’s transfer decision is crystal clear amid Chelsea, West Ham, and Newcastle United interest

Harry Maguire might be the only exit-bound Premier League footballer this transfer window who feels as if he could realistically be sold on Facebook Marketplace. The Manchester United defender has the physical stature, general demeanour, and cumbersome mobility of a second-hand wardrobe. Recent performances would suggest that he may also be the kind of bedroom furnishing who houses a vexatious poltergeist.

By this stage, you are probably aware of the situation involving Maguire and his current employers, even if it is just in a casual, hazy sense. Deemed surplus to requirements by Erik ten Hag, the England international has been unceremoniously despoiled of his captain’s armband and promptly tossed onto a teetering heap of dead wood round the back of Old Trafford, just waiting for somebody to ply him with lighter fluid and ignite a bonfire of tentative negotiations.

United are understood to be demanding around £50 million for the centre-back. Everybody else is understood to be demanding that they lower their expectations somewhat.

It is proving to be a slightly undignified end to an association that was supposed to provide both parties with so much. To this day, the £80 million United paid for Maguire back in 2019 remains a world record fee for a defender, and at the time, there was a feeling that his arrival would allow the club and their newest acquisition to progress beyond their prior limitations.

Instead, Maguire has been marginalised in recent times (last season he started just eight Premier League matches) and has become something of a recurring punchline for the vapid meme culture of Football Twitter^TM’s dullest wits. Much like the inflatable unicorn on which he rode into a nation’s hearts during the Russian World Cup, what goes up must slowly, despressingly deflate.

But there is hope. In spite of the jagged, gaping holes shorn into the hull of his reputation, Maguire remains relatively in demand this summer. Already there have been links with the likes of West Ham and the nouveau riche Newcastle United, but according to a report from 90min, both could face unexpected competition for his signature from - and get ready to pinch yourself here - Chelsea.

The Blues are said to be in the market for another central defender having parted company with both Kalidou Koulibaly and Cesar Azpilicueta, while Wesley Fofana looks set to miss the majority of the coming campaign after undergoing ‘reconstructive surgery’ on his ACL.

What’s more, unlike the Hammers and the Magpies, it is understood that Todd Boehly’s hyperactive spendaholics would be able to cover the entirety of Maguire’s wages, potentially opening up the possibility of a loan agreement, as opposed to a permanent transfer.

Here’s the thing, though; Maguire shouldn’t go to Stamford Bridge, and the reasons are pretty simple as to why. There is nothing to suggest that this wouldn’t be a classic case of a player dragging themselves, battered and singed, out of the frying pan only to hurl themselves straight into the nearest roaring blaze.

To resurrect his spluttering career, the 30-year-old will require both minutes and stability. At this present moment in time, there is no concrete implication that Chelsea could offer him either. Even taking Fofana’s injury woes into account, Mauricio Pochettino can still call upon the likes of Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Trevor Chalobah, and Benoit Badiashile at the heart of defence. It’s not that Maguire would never play, it’s just that he might not play all that often.

And then there is the conundrum of Chelsea themselves. Trying to ascertain where exactly the Blues are headed right now is like trying to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey while drunk on absinthe inside a tilt-a-whirl. The heart tells you that they can’t be as pathetic again this season as they were last, but the head can’t shake the feeling that fortunes might stagnate for a while before they get any better. The last thing that Maguire, this easiest of targets, needs right now is to be at the crime scene when the dismembered hopes of another top six club are found stuffed inside a suitcase behind a dumpster. Even if he has no blood on his hands, people are quick to latch on to common denominators.

Newcastle feels like an ill fit too, again due to the lack of guaranteed first team minutes, and also partially because the direction in which Eddie Howe appears to be dragging the Magpies’ project feels fundamentally and diametrically opposed to spending £50 million on a player of Maguire’s age.

And that leaves us, then, with West Ham. Whether the Hammers would be willing to cough up half of the loot they only just received for Declan Rice for a centre-back who has been, diplomatically speaking, patchy at best of late, is a matter for them and them alone to mull over. You suspect, however, that they might baulk at Maguire’s current valuation.

If some kind of compromise can be found, though, then this could be a move that genuinely benefits the United outcast - or at least more so than his other potential destinations. Provided he could find his level among the likes of Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Angelo Ogbonna, and Thilo Kehrer, the Hammers would present Maguire not only with the prospect of regular minutes, but also with continental football next season.

He would be firmly on the radar of England manager Gareth Southgate without subjecting himself to the glare of top six scrutiny, he would be pulling on a jersey for one of the most passionate and historic clubs in the country, and he would, in David Moyes, have a manager who understands better than most what it means to be chewed up and spat out by the ravenous machinations of the Old Trafford disassembly line.

It may be Chelsea’s interest that is making the headlines at the moment, but if anything, all this speculation should do is serve as a reminder as to where Maguire would actually be best headed in the coming weeks.