Newcastle United are interested in a transfer for maligned Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, according to recent report from the Daily Mail.

In the Magpies’ latest competitive encounter, where they were beaten 2-1 by a ten-man Liverpool outfit, an injury was sustained by star defender Sven Botman.

Due to this, Newcastle have been scrambling to find a short-term replacement. Maguire is one of the names on their list – but if they wish to bring him on board, it will have to be in the form of a permanent deal as the Red Devils are unwilling to loan him out.

How would Harry Maguire affect the way Newcastle play?

Fitting Maguire into a squad comes with several caveats. He is a limited footballer – as such, there are only a handful of systems in which he will be able to thrive.

Not only is he quite slow, his technical ability leaves a lot to be desired. As such, he is best utilised as part of a low block, which is in contrast to the style that Eddie Howe is currently trying to implement.

We have seen Maguire being played in a high line on several occasions for Manchester United – his lack of mobility has left them susceptible to carefully-weighted long balls almost every time he has been used in this system.

Due to this, we feel that the Toon would be better served by exploring other options in the centre-back role. Maguire is not without his assets – he’s very threatening from set-pieces and is aerially dominant – but his limitations make him unsuitable for Newcastle presently.

Does Harry Maguire still have a place at Manchester United?

Maguire himself seems keen to remain at United and to fight for his place. However, he has been frozen out of the squad for several months now – it appears that both Erik Ten Hag and the fans want him gone.

Moreover, he is thought to be willing to accept a move to another club – but only if he is promised a significant increase in playing time.

The club have recently rejected a move to West Ham United – they reportedly put forth £30 million to secure his services, but United were unwilling to let him leave for this price.