Manchester United will make a decision on the future of West Ham target Harry Maguire in December, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

Writing in his column for the Daily Briefing Substack, the journalist said that, despite the Hammers having called off a move to sign Maguire for £30m in the summer, the defender is still “appreciated” by the London club.

However, it remains to be seen whether David Moyes’ side will have the budget to buy Maguire when the transfer window reopens in January.

After giving up their pursuit of the United centre-back, the Irons splashed out £18m on Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos instead, so a lot could depend on whether Maguire is available for a lower fee.

Why are West Ham still pursuing Maguire?

With Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer and Mavropanos all capable centre-halves, there is an argument to say that Moyes doesn’t really need to reinforce that area of the pitch any further.

However, there is some uncertainty surrounding Zouma’s future. The former Chelsea player will have just a year left on his contract at the end of the season and there is speculation that he could be subject of bids from teams in Saudi Arabia.

Is Maguire interested in moving to the London Stadium?

While it seems as if Maguire’s reluctance to leave Manchester played a major role in the defender not joining West Ham last summer, the situation has changed somewhat. During the international break, Maguire said he would not remain at Old Trafford if his game time continues to be limited:

“I mean, I’m not going to sit here all my life and play once every month and if it carries on then I’m sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things.”

From the sound of things, it appears that, if he remains a bit-part player at his current team, West Ham will probably have a good chance of securing his signature in the New Year.

Watch a recap of Gameweek 8 in the Premier League on Shots! TV here