Transfer news: Manchester United and Leicester reach Harry Maguire agreement

This news story has dragged on all summer, with numerous false starts, but Harry Maguire really is off to Manchester United this time.

The Foxes held out all summer to make sure that they got the world record fee that they were asking for, and were rewarded with an £80m offer. Maguire was always keen on the idea and the deal was completed soon after.

Maguire is an excellent defender and I’m sure we would all rather have kept him, but to get what would be a world record fee for a defender is excellent business, and well beyond his value.

The income is roughly n line with what the Foxes have spent so far on Ayoze Perez, Youri Tielemans and James Justin. It’s reasonable to assume that the club weren’t planning for a 0 net spend, so some of this money could be re-invested in the coming week.

A defender is obviously a possibility, with Nathan Aké and James Tarkowski top of the list, but both may prove too expensive for the small upgrade they might provide.

More attacking options are also always a possibility. A move for Dennis Praet appears to have been lined up, and Rodgers has also expressed an interest in another winger, if the price was right. Now that the transfer fund has received a rather huge investment, might there be enough available to go after a bigger name than previously targeted?

Hakim Ziyech of Ajax has been linked with a Premier League move all summer and is now unlikely to go to Arsenal, who have made their own record transfer this week. It would be a huge catch for Leicester, and is possibly a little unlikely, but it’s not my money so I say spend it all.