Manchester United could save themselves £43m this summer with sensible transfer

Manchester United are showing signs they have learnt from previous mistakes under the tenure of Erik ten Hag.

The Dutch manager almost immediately improved the spine of the team when he formed the partnership between Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in central defence. Of course, this move pushed then-captain Harry Maguire to the fringes of the squad.

United's skipper fell down the pecking order as Victor Lindelof and even Luke Shaw were preferred to him at centre-back. So, it came as no surprise when Maguire was stripped of the captaincy this week and replaced by Bruno Fernandes who had stood in last season in his absence.

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Ten Hag's decision looks to have opened the door for Maguire's exit from Old Trafford. MEN Sport understands the Reds have set a price tag of £50m for the Englishman which could be well above what many teams are willing to pay.

Should he leave for this figure, United could reinvest the money in a new centre-back who could foreseeably takeover from Varane in the future. AS Monaco's Axel Disasi has been linked but he would cost approximately £43m, according to reports.

Realistically, United will not receive £50m for Maguire and, with other areas of the squad needing to be strengthened first, it would not be wise to spend big on a defender this summer with a strict transfer budget being set of around £120m - while that amount will increase should players depart. Thankfully for Ten Hag, a cheap alternative has landed straight into his lap in the form of Jonny Evans.

Having signed on a short-term deal to play