Puel upbeat on Maguire stay

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail SHINE, August 1, 2018
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Harry Maguire (L) of England vies with Adnan Januzaj of Belgium during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group G match between England and Belgium in Kaliningrad, Russia, June 28, 2018. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

Defender Harry Maguire will not leave Leicester City in the current transfer window despite rivals' interest in securing the England international's services, the English Premier League club's French manager Claude Puel has said.


Maguire impressed in his first season at Leicester, starting all 38 league matches for the Foxes last term as the club finished ninth in the league. His performances earned him an England call-up for the World Cup in Russia.


The 25-year-old put in a strong show in England's run to the World Cup semifinals, featuring in all seven of its matches at the tournament.


"I am confident about the presence of Harry for this season. He is a very good player for us," Puel told Sky Sports News. "I was not surprised about his performance during this World Cup. We saw his progress during the second half of the season.


"... It was not a surprise to see him perform well at this level in the international game.


"Of course for us he is a very good player — I wait for him with impatience because we need Harry and we need also Jamie (Vardy) because they are Leicester."


Puel said if Leicester sells Maguire, finding a suitable replacement would be impossible before the league's transfer window closes on August 9.


"If we lose a player just a few days before the beginning of the season without the ability to replace him... To change the scene before the start of the season is not possible," Puel added. "He (Maguire) can continue to perform with Leicester and improve and that is the important thing always with a young player... "


Maguire and striker Vardy are expected to return to Leicester this week as the East Midlands club prepares for its season-opening EPL trip to Manchester United on August 10.


Meanwhile, United manager Jose Mourinho says he is confident that the club will sign at least one more player before the transfer window closes.


The Portuguese boss expressed his hopes of signing two new recruits after United's 1-4 defeat by Liverpool in the preseason International Champions Cup last weekend in the United States but now says one addition seems more probable.


"I am confident I will get one, but I think two I am not going to get which is not a drama," Mourinho told beIN SPORTS. "In every preseason it happens the same with every club which is the manager wants more.


"It's our nature, you always want more for your team but then club decisions are different and normally you don't get what you want which happened during all my career.


"So if I get one player until the end of the market, that's fine."


United has struggled to impress in preseason with a patchy squad that has been depleted through injuries and key players resting after the World Cup. Its sole preseason win came against AC Milan last week.


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