Harry Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender when he arrived at Manchester United from Leicester City for £80 million. Along with already being earmarked by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the future Man United captain, Maguire will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders as he aims to live up to his hefty price tag.
If history is anything to go by, Maguire will go on to become one of the best defenders in the world, much like Rio Ferdinand did after signing for United from Leeds for £30 million in 2002, making him the most expensive defender at that time.
With the Premier League season around the corner, it seems like the Red Devils snatched up Harry Maguire just in time, especially for the
Manchester United vs Chelsea clash set to take place this weekend. His record fee may have shot him into the spotlight, but here are five things you might not know about Harry Maguire.
A jack of all trades
Image source: joe.co.uk
Most professional sportsmen and women are natural athletes, and often excel at other sports. Harry Maguire is no different, except for the fact that he didn’t excel at just one other sport, but three.
He was a talented cross country runner, a remarkable rugby player and a brilliant hockey player too. Maguire being good at these sports comes as no surprise as he has shown time-and-again that he has the ability to keep going, he is also incredibly strong and is a physical threat to many who come up against him.
While football may have been the most lucrative sporting career for him to pursue, there is no doubt that he would have excelled at which ever path he had chosen to follow.
Footballing pedigree
Image source: thetimes.co.uk
Professional football is littered with family members who play professionally – think Eden and Thorgan Hazard, Gary and Phil Neville, Bobby and Jack Charlton, Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng – the list is endless.
The Maguire family is no different, with all three boys playing professional football at some level. Harry Maguire, however, has proven to be far more successful than his siblings.
His brother Laurence is currently playing for Chesterfield in the National League while the third brother, Joe, plays his football for Northern Premier League side Gainsborough Trinity.
A dream come true
Image source: skysports.com
Even the greatest of movie script writers couldn’t map out Harry Maguire’s dream run to stardom in the same way that it has actually panned out.
After turning out for Hull City in the English Championship, helping them earn a spot in the Premier League, to being snapped up by Leicester City, and then finding himself at Manchester United as the world’s most expensive defender, Maguire’s career has been like a fairy tale so far.
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But that’s just the start of it. In 2016, while still playing for Hull City, Maguire decided to travel with a few of his friends to go and watch England take part in the Euros, little did he know that in just two short years, he himself, would be pulling on the England jersey as a starting centre back at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
We almost lost him to the midfield
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For most of his younger days, Maguire featured in the midfield, it wasn’t until he was about 16 years old that his coach, John Pemberton, stuck him in defence.
“I won’t play you centre midfield while I’m manager here,’” Pemberton said. “As a midfielder, lots of people can do what you do. But as a centre half, no one can do what you can do with a football.
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“He’s an intelligent boy. And he took everything on board. We worked on playing out from the back, accepting the mistakes if they made them, but starting a lot of our attacks from the centre backs and full backs. And he took to it like a duck to water.
“He could defend, he could head it, he’s strong, he read the game very well. But what always marked him out as different from everyone else is the way he can handle the ball.”
Who knows, maybe Maguire owes some of his wage to Pemberton?
Jamie Vardy calls him “Slabhead”
Image source: realsport101.com
England had gone through a stage of failing to advance in World Cups, and their 2018 World Cup quarter-final clash against a tricky Swedish side threatened to continue that trend.
That was before Harry Maguire scored a stunning header from a flighted corner and helped his side to a 2-0 victory and a spot in the semi-finals.
In a press conference following England’s second game, Jamie Vardy had managed to sneak in and ask Maguire, “Hi, this is Jamie Vardy from Vardy News – what is the diameter of your head?”
Vardy would go on to call Maguire “Slabhead” – a nickname that has since stuck.
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