MANCHESTER: Harry Maguire is keen to sign a new contract with Manchester United before the end of the year.
The 32-year-old centre-back is now entering the final eight months of his current contract, but further talks have already begun between the club and Maguire’s representatives.
United’s director of football negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, is said to have held preliminary talks with the player’s agent.
Maguire previously received an automatic one-year extension in January at the request of manager Ruben Amorim, who also added the former captain to the club’s new leadership group in the summer.
Although United tried to reduce David de Gea’s wages before the goalkeeper left the club two years ago, Maguire is expected to remain on his original contract.
His salary has been reduced by 25 percent after United failed to qualify for the Champions League in May 2024, leaving him earning around 140,000 pounds a week.
Amorim also gave the former Leicester player the confidence to return to the captaincy for the League Cup match against Grimsby Town in August – the first time Maguire has led the team since losing the captaincy under Erik ten Hag in July 2023.
Despite no longer being called up to the England squad, Maguire has enjoyed two stellar seasons at Old Trafford since a £30 million move to West Ham failed to materialise.
A dramatic 121st-minute winning goal against Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals last April and consistent performances have made him a favourite with United fans again, after previously being frequently jeered during pre-season tours in Australia, the United States and Ireland.
Maguire is now the oldest central defender in the United squad and has played in 38 of Amorim’s 50 games.
Since joining United from Leicester in 2019 for £80 million — a world record for a defender — Maguire has made 253 appearances, and recently received a special award frame from director of football Jason Wilcox to celebrate his 250th appearance for the club.