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One source has suggested that Leicester City will not sell Harry Maguire for anything less than £100m this summer.

Read that sentence again. Let it sink in. £100m. That’s £20m more than Cristiano Ronaldo cost Real Madrid in 2009. They were buying the best player in the world. And he didn’t cost as much as the value placed upon Maguire by Leicester City.

Now, of course, inflation is as much to blame for this as anything else but this is still an absolutely astronomical amount of money.

Manchester United had reportedly agreed a fee a few weeks ago, looking to fill their defence with yet another England international who has been okay elsewhere but never really hit the heights that he could have.

Yes, he enjoyed a very good World Cup but so did Kieran Trippier. Let’s leave that argument in the box it came from. He’s fine at Leicester, absolutely fine, good in fact, but that, realistically, is his level.

Now, if he moves, he could become the fifth most expensive footballer in history. In history!

Why? The question does have to be asked, doesn’t it? Three words: Premier League proven.

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He’s played in the top-flight and has made over a century of appearances within it. He’s got knowledge and he’s got know-how so, yep, he’s more expensive because of it.

Lewis Dunk, the Brighton & Hove Albion defender, could replace him for a fee of £45m.

Let’s just compare for a second, shall we?

A viral tweet from Premier League Panel assumes that Maguire would move for £80m. That’s still making him the most expensive defender in the world, at £5m more than Virgil van Dijk.

Yet it is still striking as it shows that Mats Hummels, the decorated Germany international centre-back who has actually won a World Cup, has moved to Borussia Dortmund for £27m.

Benjamin Pavard, who also won a World Cup, moved to Bayern Munich for £31.4m. Kostas Manolas, one of the highest-rated centre-backs in Europe, has linked up with Napoli for €34m (£30.5m). Real Madrid have parted with £42.7m to sign Eder Militao, a bundle of potential and promised talent.

What are Premier League clubs doing?

The Bundesliga is often held up as a shining beacon of how clubs and leagues should operate. Two of the deals mentioned – the two cheapest – occurred in Germany.

Even Bayern’s acquisition of Lucas Hernandez, their club-record signing, cost £72m – that’s £32m less than Maguire could move for and is a massive anomaly.

The five most expensive defensive signings in the Bundesliga run like this: Hernandez, Pavard, Hummels’ move to from Dortmund to Bayern, Hummels’ return and Dortmund’s acquisition of Abdou Diallo for £25m.

The Premier League? Van Dijk, obviously, then Manchester City’s £57m purchase of Aymeric Laporte, their £52m deal for Benjamin Mendy, their £47.5m deal for John Stones and Manchester United’s £50m deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The mind honestly boggles.

Why are those five players any more expensive than those in the Bundesliga? How many of those players moving to an English club have won the World Cup? The answer is one – Mendy – but he played 40 minutes in a dead rubber group stage match against Denmark as France won the 2018 tournament.

There is a disease in the Premier League and both Maguire and Dunk are symptomatic of it.

The former would become the most expensive defender of all time if he moved to United and that, really, is ridiculous. More than that, it’s downright crazy.

For United, they might end up with an excellent defender who fits right in at Old Trafford. But the fee is extortionate and speaks to English clubs simply having too much money.

There is an old saying that goes: More money than sense.

It has summed up the Premier League for too long, and Maguire is the latest example of it being proven yet again.

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