The main factor is how that very price itself is set. As goes without saying, but is often under-considered in
such issues, price isn’t completely related to the absolute quality of the player. In the words of one agent
who has worked on many such deals, “it’s mainly done by comparison to other moves in the market, with
some impact from remaining contract time”.
And this, remember, is not just a market where top clubs sign their primary centre-half for £75m. It is now
one where the “standard fee” – almost the average deal – has become £40m-plus, and closer to £50m.
Part of that obviously comes with the premium from operating in the Premier League market itself, which is
one of many multipliers to go with contract time, age, nationality, player profile, media profile, financial
situation of the selling club and – perhaps most relevantly in all of this – financial situation of the buying
club.
The question isn’t really what Maguire is worth, but what he is worth to United. This cuts to the core of all
of this.
All prices are relative, and thereby someway irrelevant. If a player is a success, the deal has worked out and
has been worth it. If he struggles, it hasn’t. The exact price thereafter gets lost to the vagaries of time and
huge variables like inflation.
So, the question is whether Maguire has what it takes to be a success.
He does have a lot of qualities United are missing, which they obviously need. He has physical presence,
and is likely a better centre-half than everyone they’ve currently got, although some United staff members
do think Victor Lindelof is superior.
Even if that is true, though, it’s not so important since the whole idea is that they will complement each
other. Maguire has qualities that the Swede does not, but also one specific quality that a lot of the current
team lacks: mature composure.
A lot of this is down to his personality, and that is why there has already been talk he could soon be made
captain. This is why Pep Guardiola has also been interested in him. And it says just as much that – for all
perceptions about his size – he has already fit in well to a Brendan Rodgers approach, and the Catalan
reckons he could do the same with his.
Many of the United players who have worked with Maguire at the England camp talk of the composure and
competence he brings, something that has been relayed to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He can look ungainly, but
that doesn’t often come across in his performances.
Performances with United are a different level, mind. The expectations are different. The standards are
different. The play may be different.
Maybe the biggest question revolves around how he will fit into Solskjaer’s ideal of a fast and high-pressing
approach. Maguire does after all radiate presence rather than pace. All of the leadership qualities in the
world also become somewhat irrelevant when someone is running at you one-on-one at speed.
But this is the level. This is the step-up. This isn’t always related to the price. That, as much as anything
else, is worth remembering.