How Harry Maguire can justify Manchester United’s £80m fee in two key areas

More to new United signing than just defensive qualities

It is the late spring of 2011. A teenage Paul Pogba is out on the right wing at Bramall Lane, spinning a devilish, low cross into the six-yard box. Jesse Lingard’s poke at the ball deflects off Sheffield United’s goalkeeper, yet still rises up towards goal. The covering defender is underneath it but comically heads against his own crossbar and – somehow, according to the assistant referee – over the goal-line.

That covering defender was Harry Maguire. Sheffield United would draw that first leg of the FA Youth Cup final 2-2 despite Manchester United’s contentious opener, only to go down 4-1 at Old Trafford the following week. Maguire was admitted to hospital that night suffering from a concussion. Meanwhile, several of his team-mates ended the evening in tears, realising what could well be the peak of their young careers had ended in defeat.

It was never likely to be the end of the story for Maguire, the most eye-catching and imposing member of that squad, though few ever expected him to be reacquainted with Pogba and Lingard eight years later as the most expensive defender in world football. United’s £80m signing of a player, who was available to them two years earlier for a fraction of that price, was finally confirmed on Monday.

The fee – which surpasses the £75m which Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk – has predictably dominated much of the debate around the transfer. But there is a more relevant discussion to be had about the 26-year-old’s particular qualities as a defender and what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants him to bring to United. Leadership, as already outlined in these pages , is one factor for a manager looking to instil a culture of players setting examples and taking responsibility.

Solskjaer also wants his United to play out from the back, though not necessarily along the floor. United have often been happy to sit deep and spring quick counter-attacks under his management, most memorably in the Parc des Princes in March. The emphasis is on moving the ball quickly. United therefore needed a defender who is not limited to patient, methodical possession play. Only two centre-halves played more accurate long passes per 90 minutes than Maguire in the Premier League last season.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both managed less than half Maguire’s number of good, long passes. The player likeliest to partner him in the centre of United’s defence, Victor Lindelof, hit more inaccurate long balls than he did accurate ones. If quick transitions up the field of play are to be a big part of Solskjaer’s United, a defender with the vision and composure of Maguire to play them is essential.

Another area where ‘Slabhead’ can give United an edge is less surprising. Maguire is understandably dominant in the air: no centre-half to play regular top-flight minutes last season won a greater percentage of their aerial battles. And curiously, no Premier League team was better at contesting the ball in the air last year than United. The combination of two comes with plenty of promise and potential, particularly on set plays.

It was an element of Maguire’s play which Leicester exploited to an extent, with four set-piece league goals scored over the course of his two years in the east Midlands, but one which was truly maximised by England at the World Cup. There, Maguire scored only once from a corner but assisted Harry Kane against Tunisia and would have won a penalty against Panama if John Stones had not turned the ball in regardless.

It is not so much Maguire’s threat on set pieces which makes him dangerous but his mere presence. Last year, underlying statistical models suggest Leicester were one of the most – if not, the most – threatening team from set plays. How much of this was directly down to Maguire? How much of it was due to opposition defenders paying particular attention to his megalithic head, thereby leaving gaps others could exploit?

For a defence which conceded 54 goals last year, Maguire’s defensive qualities are desperately needed. But for one which also missed out on Champions League qualification in one of the tighter top-four battles in recent memory, the edges that he could give United in both their build-up play and on set-pieces are also key. There may be plenty who doubt the wisdom of the £80m price tag, but Maguire has travelled an unlikely path to Old Trafford and there may be more surprises to come.