Sunday 4 August 2019 13:49, UK
Incoming Manchester United defender Harry Maguire will prove to be a 'future captain' of the club, according to Henry Winter.
The Leicester player looks likely to become the world's most expensive defender after United finally agreed a fee with the Foxes more than a year after they first became interested in signing him, and he was spotted in Manchester on Sunday morning ahead of a medical.
The Times' chief football writer Winter hailed Maguire as a "great buy" on Sunday Supplement and said his character, as much as his defensive ability, will add to the Old Trafford dressing room.
"He's a leader, he's a future Manchester United captain," he said. "Anyone who's interviewed him, or spent any time around him, knows he's a good character. I think it's a great buy.
"We're always debating good characters, especially around the [Gareth] Southgate ethos. He steps into midfield from defence, but he also contributes goals.
"He's such a bubbly character. You come out of an interview with him thinking this is a really nice kid, England are in good hands.
"People have discussed why it took so long, but Leicester have played hardball. This is the new reality of the Premier League; you've got in inverted commas a 'mid-table' club like Leicester, with the financial resources from broadcast and wealthy owners, and they don't want to be pushed around.
"Manchester United would have liked him about three weeks ago, but it's a fantastic signing. He'll bring a smile back to that dressing room, because he's such an engaging character."
Fellow panellist Oliver Holt, chief sports writer with the Mail on Sunday, said signing a player with Maguire's personality was a must to rid the "dissatisfaction" in the dressing room at United.
"There's been this malaise at United for such a long time now, and a dissatisfaction in the dressing room," he told the show. "I remember when they beat PSG in Paris, and afterwards the players came through the mixed zone, it was a brilliant night and the players came through looking like they'd just lost 5-0.
"There's an attitude which feels like a team who are besieged, and for whatever reason that is, whether it's the legacy of [Jose] Mourinho, it's been around for a while.
"It's an old thing buying characters, the old Ferguson thing of buying the character as well as the player. Turning that thing around gradually for United is going to be huge."
Another long-running Man Utd transfer saga has revolved around Paul Pogba, who has been linked with a move back to Juventus and also to Real Madrid.
But Winter and Holt told Sunday Supplement United need to keep the Frenchman if they are to compete this season.
Winter said: "If you saw them yesterday [against AC Milan], they are crying out for someone like Pogba, but a Pogba without Mino Raiola, a Pogba who is focused and in love with Manchester United. We know his roots are there.
"He's absolutely what they need. We saw it at the World Cup, he is a fantastic player. How do you replace someone like him?
"It has always struck me with Solksjaer that he has had an 'Operation Pogba' - get Pogba smiling again and get him focused. You have to keep a player like Pogba and keeping him happy is the key issue first."
Holt added: "The uncertainty around Pogba is one of those sagas that could run and run. It could disrupt the start of the season, there's bound to be a flurry of activity in the next week about whether he'll stay or whether he'll go. If he does, what type of hole does that leave?
"They have got to keep Pogba. If they have ambitions to get back to the top, he is one of the best players in the world. You don't sell the best players in the world if you're Manchester United."
