West Ham United may be about to lose their captain, best player and all-round fan favourite, but the wider view of Declan Rice’s imminent £105m switch to Arsenal is that David Moyes has funds to strengthen in multiple positions.
Who are West Ham United looking to sign?
John Cross claims in a report in The Mirror that West Ham have eyed up as many as seven newbies to bolster their ranks once the Rice sale – making him the second most-expensive British player of all time – officially goes through.
Among those being targeted by the Europa Conference League winners are Denis Zakaria of Juventus, Everton’s Amadou Onana and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.
While Maguire’s name will not exactly get supporters’ pulses racing all that much on the back of losing Rice, it is a move that could make sense in more ways than one.
The England international has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and, according to TEAMtalk, he is available for £30m this summer – £50m cheaper than four years ago when he arrived at United from Leicester City.
Is Harry Maguire a good option for West Ham?
Maguire was restricted to just eight Premier League starts last season and a further eight appearances from the substitutes’ bench after failing to win over head coach Erik ten Hag.
However, the 30-year-old – roughly entering the peak age for a centre-back – still performed to a high standard when called upon by Ten Hag last season, and likewise for England during the recent international break.
As Ten Hag himself said after bringing Maguire into the side for a Europa League tie against Real Betis in March, the Englishman has arguably become a “more dominant and dictating” defender, and one who is “taking more initiative.”
FBref’s player comparison model puts Maguire pretty much on a par with team-mate Raphael Varane and Real Madrid’s Eder Militao in terms of their statistical profiles across the past 12 months, showing he is far from finished.
The 2.94 aerial duels Maguire won per 90 minutes last season, as per FBref, is higher than any West Ham defender (Angelo Ogbonna is highest ranked with 2.55), while his pass-completion percentage of 85.1 is again higher than any Hammers defenders from last season (Kurt Zouma 84.4).
There is no hiding from the fact that Maguire is not the colossus he was early in his United career, but Moyes may just be the perfect man to kick-start his career – just like he did with Jesse Lingard’s.
Lingard joined West Ham on loan from Man United in January 2021 at a time when many had written off his Old Trafford career (sound familiar?), only to score nine goals and assist five more in 16 games for the Irons.
That was more goals in half a season than he managed in any of his six full campaigns in Manchester, which would earn him a place back in the United team the following season.
It may have only been a temporary revitalisation for Lingard, who flopped at Nottingham Forest last season having not found the net in the Premier League, but Moyes proved the man to get the best out of him at his lowest point.
Different positions they may be, but who is to say the Scotsman cannot now do the same with Maguire?
