According to Talksport, there is a rumor that Aston Villa were on the verge of signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, which had surfaced on January 8, 2023.
Maguire (29) had been spotted near the Aston Villa fc Training Complex, Bodymoor Heath, with his agent Paul Stretford.
Although Harry Maguire has fallen down the central defensive pecking order at United, manager Erik Ten Hag wants to keep the club captain until at least the end of the season.
According to Samuelluckurst, sources close to Harry Maguire and United say they have found the feverish speculation “laughable,” after Maguire was supposedly spotted in Birmingham over the weekend. He was believed to have gone to the Belfry to play golf.
The manager Erik Ten Hag had spoken about his decision, which involved benching Marcus Rashford for being late to a meeting held on the morning of the game. Ten Hag had admitted that “maybe [benching Rashford] was a risk, but if you want to develop something and create a winning culture, you have to go this way. If you allow them to be undisciplined, if they don’t match the standards, then it will come back and blow up in your face.”
Erik Ten Hag responded to the reaction Marcus Rashford gave him when he was placed in the line-up during the second half of the game. Ten Hag claimed that “the right characters will react like this. I was convinced, I expected the reaction he showed".
Ten Hag continued to speak on the discipline of the team. “Also, on the pitch, they will not act with the necessary discipline to win games. It’s about top football. It’s about big responsibilities. So in my opinion, you have to go this way [and set clear rules to everyone]”.
He also made a decision to get “rid of the Cristiano Ronaldo effect” and demolish the idea of players being overly paid. Manchester United's largest annual wage bill was estimated to have been two hundred and twenty eight million — the highest in the Premier League.
The coach introduced a new rule to ensure that nobody in the squad is paid significantly more than their teammates. Salaries will be capped at two hundred pounds a week.
Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold says any new investors in the club will be urged to work closely with fans, and expressed hope that a potential full or partial sale would prove a positive step forward.
John Murtough spoke about the investment made on the club.“You have to remember that we invested over two hundred million pounds last summer, and as a club, we have to stay in the FPF. So while we’re going to look at the options, I don't expect a very hectic January transfer window.”
John Murtough mentioned the club's necessity to sign an attacker. “It's no secret that we’re looking for a new center forward,” he said. “We’ll see what’s possible in January, but as Erik Ten Hag said, we don’t want to only sign players who are good enough”