Harry Maguire wanted by former manager

Manchester United’s summer of transition has placed Harry Maguire at the centre of a tug-of-war between loyalty and a lucrative reunion, with Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah—managed by his former Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers—pushing hard to secure the 32-year-old on a free transfer.

Maguire’s contract at Old Trafford expires in June and, while no formal extension has been tabled, the defender has told intermediaries he is open to staying even if it means accepting a reduction on his current £200,000-a-week wages. United rejected an approach from AC Milan in January and internal discussions have continued about retaining an experienced voice in a dressing room set to lose Casemiro and Jadon Sancho, moves that will shave roughly £625,000 from the weekly wage bill.

Al-Qadsiah, however, see Maguire as the marquee acquisition needed to propel a title challenge. Rodgers, who guided the centre-back through the most consistent stretch of his early career at the King Power Stadium, has made personal contact to outline a project built around Maguire’s aerial dominance and leadership qualities. A significant signing-on package is on offer, yet sources close to the player insist finances are not the primary motivation; the opportunity to work again with a manager who extracted his best form is viewed as the decisive lure.

The uncertainty arrives at a curious juncture. Twelve months after Erik ten Hag stripped him of the captaincy and a £30 million switch to West Ham appeared imminent, Maguire elected to fight for his place. That resolve has yielded tangible returns: a stoppage-time winner against Lyon in the Europa League, a towering header that ended United’s league drought at Anfield, and a man-of-the-match display in a 3-2 victory at Arsenal during a five-match run of starts—his longest sequence of the campaign.

Inside Carrington, the resurgence has not gone unnoticed. Coaching staff value his composure in possession and organisational presence, while teammates cite his refusal to take the easy exit as a benchmark for resilience. Sections of the fanbase have likewise reframed the narrative, turning a former scapegoat into a cult hero whose commitment embodies the club’s historic emphasis on character.

United now face a binary choice: table a reduced but competitive extension that rewards perseverance, or allow Maguire to leave on a free and back younger successors. With pre-season plans crystallising and recruitment budgets tightening, the decision will signal whether the club prizes continuity of culture as highly as it pursues reinvention.

For Maguire, the next move will shape the final chapters of a career that has already survived record-transfer scrutiny, captaincy turbulence and repeated links with exits. Staying would complete a redemption arc; departing would reunite him with the manager who first unlocked his potential, albeit on a new continent. Either way, the coming weeks will determine whether resilience or reunion wins out.