But you did pay £80 million for him mate and made him the most expensive CH in World football in so doing. Along with another £50 for AWB making him what, the 5/6th most expensive defender of all time?
When you lay-out that, you're paying for elite, difference-making players. That's the barometer when the stakes are that high. That's why we waited, after the initial F up that cost us another £20 million on him, another 6 months for VVD. Top bracket, the difference-making ability for the best out there. Neither of which they've been. Saying they're better than what you had/ have played well in certain games is a grasping justification of that.
Maguire has been a bang average defender in this league this year. If van Dijk, who BTW has dipped on his superhuman form of last season, had dipped to those levels he'd be getting slated all over. The tackle stat on AWB is a great one that gets thrown up on social media all the time. Some divvy's even try use it to say he's better than Trent. When often he's been throwing in last-ditch recovery tattles this year as he's been caught out of position in the first place! That oft used line from the summer that he never gets beat one-on-one has soon disappeared now he's on an island by himself and not protected in the Hodges ultra-defensive system ay? And all that's no real slight on AWB. He's still really raw and inexperienced. Both in age and top-level experience. He'll develop. Should add to the attacking side too going forward being he's a former winger still learning the position. But at present, he'd just a very highly-priced version of Nathanial Clyne.
I think it's been that long since there's been consistently high level defending at Utd that anything that's better than Jones/ Smalling et all is seen as a big positive to hang hope on.
But when the fees paid have been so ridiculous, and the standards aren't matching that, then rightly or wrongly that's what they'll get hold up against.
