Manchester United has informed Harry Maguire that he won’t be allowed to depart from the club in the current transfer window, unless there’s a sudden change of stance from the decision-makers at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag, having advised United’s director of football, John Murtough, suggested that Maguire should be offloaded, and it seemed West Ham was the most likely place for the defender to land.

 About two weeks ago, a £30m deal seemed imminent, but it fell apart due to Maguire’s insistence on a £7m payout.

This compensation was meant to cover the reduction in his salary that he would have faced by taking a lower wage at West Ham.

Given the limited time remaining in the transfer window, Ten Hag faces increasing challenges in finding a replacement if Maguire were to leave.

This is especially true for a move to West Ham, considering they already secured the services of Greek central defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart for £19m last week.

Maguire became a part of Manchester United after his record-breaking £80m transfer from Leicester in August 2019.

His time at Old Trafford has been marked by difficulties, leading to his recent removal as the team’s captain.

While he has not played for Ten Hag’s squad this season, he was on the bench during Saturday’s 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest.

The injury suffered by Raphaël Varane in the same match has heightened Maguire’s value to the Dutch manager. The extent of Varane’s injury is yet to be determined, pending further scans.

Manchester United is actively exploring options to secure a left-back before the upcoming Friday deadline, due to injuries affecting Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

Among the targets on Ten Hag’s radar are Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, Sergio Reguilón from Tottenham, and Marcos Alonso from Barcelona.