Manchester United given renewed hope in pursuit of Harry Maguire

Manchester United have been given hope in their pursuit of Harry Maguire with Leicester set to sign two new centre-backs in a deal worth a combined £33.5m, claims The Times.

Maguire has emerged as a top transfer target for United in the wake of his impressive 2018 World Cup displays but Leicester had initially ruled out his departure this summer.

Leicester were reportedly even set to hand Maguire a bumper new deal to fend off interest from United but now his future is less than clear-cut with deals for two new centre-backs close to completion.

The Foxes are on the verge of signing Caglar Soyuncu from Bundesliga side Freiburg and Filip Benkovic from Dynamo Zagreb for a combined £33.5m deal, which will only fuel suggestions Maguire is off.

Having already signed Jonny Evans at the start of the summer, Leicester would then have five centre-backs to pick from if Maguire stays, which would seem unlikely.

United are desperately scrambling for a new centre-back with just over 24 hours left in the transfer window and have already been knocked back by Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng.

The Red Devils are confident they are closing in on a £40m deal for Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld, but Maguire is four years younger and his potential availability could add a further twist to the saga.

Since August 2016, Soyuncu has committed the most errors that have directly led to an opposition goal in the Bundesliga (5).