Newcastle United have missed out on the signing of heavily linked centre-back Harry Maguire, with Leicester City announcing the £17m signing of the former Hull City defender yesterday.
Rafa Benitez is understood to be in the market for TWO centre-backs this summer, and it has been widely reported that the Spaniard was a big fan of the 24-year-old after watching him closely during his impressive campaign with Hull last season.
The Chronicle reported in April that Maguire was ‘firmly in Rafa’s sights’ if we managed to gain promotion, but two months on, with our top flight status confirmed, Leicester City have beaten us to his signing.
It is understood by The Chronicle that Newcastle were admirers of Maguire, but did not pursue him further after feeling £17m was an excessive fee to pay for a player with just one year of Premier League experience.
Mad to think Newcastles transfer record is £16m that wouldn't even buy you Harry Maguire now… #nufc
— Ali Hollway (@ADHollway) June 15, 2017
It’s fair to say, for some, £17m is a considerable fee to pay for a player who suffered relegation last season, but for me, Maguire would’ve been a very solid signing and such a fee is simply the going rate for a player showing such promise in the Premier League.
Newcastle will need to loosen their purse strings if they wish to bring in genuine quality this summer, however, it is far too early to panic. It is the middle of June and it is worth noting that last summer Benitez made his first of twelve summer signing at the start of July (Matz Sels).
