Harry Maguire transfer: Most memorable Man Utd moments

Harry Maguire’s eventful Manchester United career appears to be almost over with the club accepting an offer from West Ham United for the England centre-back. He joined from Leicester in the summer of 2019 for a world record fee for a defender of £80m but has fallen out of favour since the appointment of Erik ten Hag. Below we’ll take a look back on a few of Harry Maguire’s most memorable Man Utd moments.

Rightly or wrongly, much of the media coverage and discourse surrounding Maguire’s United career now tends to focus solely on the mistakes and the bad times. Those have certainly been more prevalent over the past two years, but the 30 year old’s time at Old Trafford has by no means been all bad and there were plenty of positive displays too, particularly during the first half of his four year stay in Manchester.

Harry Maguire’s most memorable Man Utd moments

A debut to remember: Man Utd 4-0 Chelsea

Harry Maguire’s Manchester United couldn’t have got off to a better start. Inevitably, given the price tag and size of the club he was joining, all eyes were on the defender when he strode out in United colours at Old Trafford for the first time for a potentially difficult debut against Chelsea.

However Maguire rose to the occasion with a fantastic display as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team recorded an impressive 4-0 win. Despite having only had a few days training with his new teammates, Maguire was awarded man of the match after one of the most impressive Old Trafford debuts in recent years.

Earlier this year, when asked to pick his favourite Manchester United moment, Maguire himself cited his debut against Chelsea as his personal highlight. United would go on to finish 3rd in the Premier League that season with Maguire playing every single minute, a rare feat for an outfielder. They conceded only 36 times, United’s best defensive showing of the past five years with Maguire instrumental.

A stunning first goal

Another highlight for Maguire was unquestionably being made captain so early in his Manchester United career. Following the departure of Ashley Young to Inter Milan in January 2020, Solskjaer made his big money summer signing his new skipper and Maguire celebrated in style later that month by netting his first United goal in the 6-0 FA Cup demolition of Tranmere Rovers.

It was no ordinary goal either. On a rare venture deep into the opposition half, Maguire cut back onto his right foot before firing in a screamer from just outside the penalty area to open the scoring in the tie.

It was the first of seven goals Maguire would score for United and easily one of the best he has netted throughout a career which included spells with Sheffield United, Hull City and Leicester City before his move to Manchester.

Sent off in Solskjaer’s last game

Despite a summer which brought many negative headlines off the pitch with Maguire arrested following an altercation in Greece, the defender remained a key figure in a Manchester United side that finished 2nd in the 2020/21 Premier League whilst reaching the Europa League Final.

It wasn’t until the opening half of the 2021/22 campaign that things really started to go badly for Maguire. The lowlight of his Manchester United career was perhaps his sending off at Watford in November 2021 for a mistimed tackle on former United midfielder Tom Cleverley. The Red Devils went on to slump to a miserable 4-1 defeat against the newly promoted team, a result that was immediately followed by the sacking of Solskjaer.

That would have compounded the misery for Maguire given he was widely viewed as Solskjaer’s man. The Norwegian had been unwavering in his support of his defender and captain, despite some costly errors against Leicester and Liverpool in the weeks leading up to the Watford game.

Brentford 4-0 Man Utd

Perhaps the writing was always on the wall for Maguire from the moment Erik ten Hag was appointed last summer. The former Ajax boss came with a reputation for building from the back and was immediately joined by his former centre-back Lisandro Martinez in Manchester, adding to the competition in defence.

Ten Hag kept faith with Maguire initially with Martinez his partner in the opening two games of the 2022/23 Premier League season. However, a 2-1 defeat against Brighton was followed by a First Half horrorshow at Brentford as United slumped to a 4-0 deficit in 35 minutes.

While Maguire was far from the only culpable party that day, he was dropped the following week with Raphael Varane taking his place in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, a turning point for Ten Hag and the beginning of the end for Maguire’s Manchester United career.

Despite continuing to start for England, Maguire made just 6 more Premier League starts during the 2022/23 season and was stripped of the captaincy earlier this summer, pushing the 30 year old even closer to the Old Trafford exit door.

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