The attempts of Man Utd to offload Harry Maguire have hit another roadblock

The attempts of Man Utd to offload Harry Maguire have hit another roadblock after he reportedly requested a £20m pay-off from the club before accepting his exit.

Maguire has become surplus to requirements at Man Utd and was recently stripped of the captaincy after falling down the pecking order. This summer, it would seem to be in his best interests to find a new club. However, various factors have got in the way so far.

First and foremost, Man Utd will have to accept they will be making a loss when they sell the defender. Having realised that, they have reportedly set an asking price in the region of £35m.

Even if one of his suitors pays up, though, Maguire would have to accept a lower salary than he currently earns at Man Utd. And according to Football Insider, he has a way of getting around that, which could hold up his exit further.

The website claims Maguire will want the remainder of his contract paying off by Man Utd before he leaves. Since he earns £10m per season and there are two years remaining on his contract, he would be asking for £20m.

Whether or not Man Utd will meet his request remains to be seen. The threat if they do not is that he would happily sit on the sidelines until his deal ran down.

With Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane both preferred at centre-back, where Man Utd are aiming to invest in another new signing, staying at Old Trafford would not be wise for Maguire from a purely sporting perspective.

West Ham watching on for Harry Maguire

In that regard, his best alternative might be to join West Ham, who have reportedly been trying to take him on a loan-to-buy deal and whose interest has been verified by Football Insider.

They would not be willing to keep him on a £190,000-per-week salary, though, so Maguire would have to make a sacrifice in that aspect.

If he can convince Man Utd to pay off the remainder of his contract, it would increase his openness to agreeing a lower salary elsewhere.

In theory, though, paying Maguire £20m so they can accept a £35m fee for him would effectively give Man Utd just £15m in earnings from his sale, even if the transactions would be treated separately on the books.

Until the situation resolves, Maguire may find himself at a standstill for his career. And ahead of a season that will precede an international tournament with England, that is something that needs to be resolved one way or another.