West Ham United 'unlikely to make second bid for Harry Maguire'

The Hammers recently stepped up their interest in the 30-year-old and decided to test the waters by submitting a £20m opening offer to the Red Devils.

However, Man United swiftly rejected the bid for Maguire as they are thought to value the England international in excess of £40m.

There were initial suggestions that West Ham could return with an improved offer, but The Mirror reports that David Moyes's side have decided against making a fresh bid.

The report adds that Man United's valuation of Maguire and the defender's £200,000-a-week wages are an issue for West Ham.

Maguire's reluctance to join West Ham is also a major stumbling block, with the former Leicester City man believed to be open to joining a 'bigger club' than the Hammers should he agree to leave Old Trafford.

Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have all been credited with an interest in Maguire at some stage during the summer transfer window, although a move to the former appears unlikely as they have allegedly agreed to sign Monaco centre-back Axel Disasi.

Maguire has spent the last four years at Man United since his £80m move from Leicester in 2019, making 175 appearances across all competitions.

However, Maguire, who has two years left on his contract, has fallen down the pecking order since the arrival of manager Erik ten Hag and he featured just eight times in the Premier League last season.

Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and left-back Luke Shaw were all preferred in the heart of defence ahead of Maguire, who was recently stripped of the captaincy after three-and-a-half years wearing the armband.

Maguire's future at Old Trafford has been speculated throughout this summer, but Ten Hag has insisted that the defender remains an "important" member of his first-team squad.

With a move to West Ham seemingly off for Maguire, Moyes is set to turn his attention to other top summer targets, particularly midfielders following the £105m departure of Declan Rice to Arsenal.

The Hammers are understood to have seen bids for Fulham's Joao Palhinha and Chelsea's Conor Gallagher rejected, while they have also held talks to sign Man United's Scott McTominay, Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, Juventus' Denis Zakaria and Ajax's Edson Alvarez.