Why Tottenham Should Sign Harry Maguire This Summer
Harry Maguire is probably the second most sought-after English defender in the transfer window after Burnley’s Michael Keane. The Hull City centre-back has attracted interests from several top clubs following his stellar campaign, despite the Tigers getting relegated to the EFL Championship.
And the latest reports from Mirror claim that it is Premier League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur, and Everton who are the major contenders for signing Maguire. They seem set to battle it out for the defender.
With rising interest in the defender, should Tottenham make a move for Maguire in the summer?
The 24-year old Maguire has been highly rated since his days with Sheffield Wednesday but took a little while long to make his presence felt with the Tigers. This past season, especially in the second half under Marco Silva, the Englishman truly emerged as a leader of the defence for Hull, almost helping them pull off a miraculous escape.
Maguire finished the season with 36 games across all competitions, scoring 3 times and chalking up 3 assists along the way. His ability and confidence when carrying the ball out of the defence and his very good distributional skills have been lauded by many. What makes him more valuable is, the 24-year old can easily slot in as a right-back with equal comfort.
Tottenham have been the team with the best defensive record in the Premier League for two seasons running now. The centre-half partnership of Toby Alderweireld and his Belgian compatriot Jan Vertonghen is easily one of the best in the country at the moment. And when manager Mauricio Pochettino has gone with a three-man defence, Eric Dier has stepped in and done an admirable job alongside the two Belgians.
The North Londoners finished the season placed 2nd in the Premier League and were in the title race until the final few weeks. They also achieved qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the second successive season. While that is a successful return, the club would want to get their hands on a trophy next campaign and also do better in the European competitions following their poor run this time around.
For that to happen, there’s no question that Pochettino will need to strengthen his squad over the summer. Amid reports that Dier will be heading to Manchester United in the upcoming transfer window (Metro) and doubts over Kevin Wimmer’s future after German outlet Express claimed Tottenham will look to sell him for a fee of £17.6 million, a new centre-back addition will be of utmost importance.
Even if Dier does stay beyond the summer, he has proven more than once over the course of the season that he is best utilised in the midfield role rather than as a centre-back and Pochettino will be aware of it.
Signing Maguire will solve most of the issues for Tottenham. They will be getting their hands on a big, strong English defender, to add to the core of their homegrown stars. And his technical ability and range of passing from the back will make him an ideal fit for the way Spurs play.
At 24, his best years are still ahead of him and he can grow into the leader of the Tottenham defence in the coming years. A price of £22million has been quoted in the tabloids, but considering that Maguire just has a year left on his contract with Hull, there are good chances Tottenham will be able to drive that price down. He will turn out to be a great addition to the roster.