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What’s the story?
Vicente Iborra has made some huge claims regarding ex-teammate Harry Maguire - the Spaniard believes that the Leicester City centre-back's potential move to Manchester City would be equivalent to Virgil van Dijk's move to Liverpool in terms of the impact he can have at the club.
In case you didn’t know…
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are in the transfer market for a new centre half after their captain Vincent Kompany left the Etihad Stadium earlier this year to take over the player-manager role at R.S.C. Anderlecht.
The heart of the matter
Iborra, who is currently plying his trade at Villareal, believes that Maguire, who is rumored to move from Leicester City to Manchester City could have a huge impact on Guardiola's side. He said:
“He is a great player.
“He’s very powerful, with good balance, great at bringing the ball out and he can score goals.
“He had a great World Cup and is a super footballer.
“His transfer to Manchester City could be like Van Dijk’s to Liverpool.”
Pep Guardiola is hunting for a player who possesses similar leadership qualities to the outgoing Kompany and therefore has identified the 26-year-old as an ideal replacement.
Iborra believes the England international could succeed at the Etihad Stadium as he believes he has what it takes to replicate what van Dijk has done with Liverpool.
If reports coming out of England are to be believed, the Foxes are holding out for £100 million for Maguire as he is their prized asset and has a long term contract with the club.
City already have the likes of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones in their ranks but Guardiola wants to make sure that the squad depth and quality does not stoop down and thus wants to bring in Maguire to maintain the balance.
What's next?
Man City are not the only ones interested in Maguire as they face competition from Manchester United to acquire his services and it will be interesting to see where the Englishman will end up.
