A MANCHESTER UNITED legend has urged the club to be “ruthless” and get rid of Harry Maguire.
And Chelsea have been ordered to sign the 31-year-old defender as a replacement for Thiago Silva after he returned to Brazil.
Dwight Yorke, 52, achieved legend status at Manchester United after joining them from Aston Villa in 1998.
He played a huge role in their 1999 Treble-winning side under Sir Alex Ferguson and added another two league titles to his collection.
Yorke moved to Blackburn in 2002 before turning out for Birmingham City and Sydney FC in Australia before returning to England and finishing his playing days at Sunderland aged 37.
He has since embarked on a successful coaching career in Australia, although he is looking for a new team, but he always keeps an eye on things at Old Trafford.
After Erik ten Hag kept his job and huge upheaval above him, the Red Devils have been busy in the transfer market so far this summer.
Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee arrived from Bologna for £36.5million to become their first new arrival.
That was followed by the signing of Leny Yoro, who made an instant impression on his debut following his £52m switch from Lille last week.
United tried to sell Maguire last year but he battled back and produced some brilliant displays under Ten Hag.
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
But injury scuppered his chance to play for England at Euro 2024 and now he has entered the final 12 months of his contract, meaning he could walk away for nothing next year.
Speaking to Premier League Betting, Yorke said: “Harry Maguire could sit out the last year of his contract and know he’s going to play at some point due to injuries, but United really need to be ruthless and get rid of him.
“They have Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and maybe Leny Yoro, but Harry Maguire is in the position that he doesn’t have to go anywhere if he doesn’t want to.
“The opportunity has passed to get rid of him because he so desperately wanted to be at Euro 2024 and he would have done anything to play.
“That was the time to move him so he could get regular football. So that opportunity passed and he's still there.”
Yorke then touted Chelsea as a potential destination, saying: “I think we need to freshen things up at United and bring new faces in and take the future of the football club forward rather than backwards.
MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest deals and rumours from Old Trafford
“Having said that, Maguire has shown that he is very capable of playing at the highest level still and elite clubs like Chelsea, who are trying to rebuild, might take a chance on Maguire.
“He can clearly still play at the level and a fresh start might just give him that injection to really perform again for another year or two at that top level. So you never know.
“I played until I was 36 so I'm never going to write someone off if they're still in their early 30s. He's still got the attributes to do that.
“I think players do improve if the team is doing well and winning football matches... football becomes very easy to play.
“Football is only difficult when things are not going particularly well and then you realise who is really good and who isn’t.
“With Thiago Silva leaving Chelsea, there's a gap there for an experienced player like Maguire to move into.”
Meanwhile, Maguire is heading to America with Man Utd for their USA tour.
The Red Devils are travelling to LA to face Arsenal on Sunday with the all-Premier League showdown taking place at SoFi Stadium.
That will be followed by a friendly against Real Betis at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California on August 1.
United finish the trip to America with a match against rivals Liverpool at the Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
kekbnotuyz
356