Harry Maguire has told Leicester he wants to leave (Picture :Getty)

Leicester City have told Harry Maguire he is free to leave the club this summer – once Manchester United or Manchester City meet the club’s £80m valuation of the defender.

The England star is yet to hand in a formal transfer request but intimated to the Foxes in the last week that he is keen on leaving the club for either United or City.

United had a £70m bid rejected for Maguire around a fortnight ago and reports over the weekend that an £80m deal has been agreed with Leicester are believed to be premature.

What is clear is that Maguire is keen on a move to Old Trafford or the Etihad but Leicester have no financial pressure to sell and want to keep the defender.

Maguire is keen on joining United or City (Picture: Getty)

Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers is sympathetic to Maguire’s wishes and the Telegraph report that Leicester have told Maguire he can leave once the club receive a bid of £80m.



That fee – which would eclipse the £75m Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk – would be a world record transfer for a defender.

United are believed to be frontrunners for the defender with City unwilling to stretch much further than their £60m valuation of Maguire.

City signed Aymeric Laporte for £57m in 2017 and do not feel Maguire represents an upgrade on the Frenchman.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suggested last week that United would not ‘overpay’ for transfer targets this summer but a new centre-back is considered an area of priority and the club briefed last summer that they’d be willing to spend £100m on the ‘ideal candidate’.

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