Harry Maguire to Man Utd is ‘an incredible piece of business,’ says Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers as he confirms £85million deal – The Sun
BRENDAN RODGERS hailed the impending sale of Harry Maguire to Manchester United as an "incredible piece of business".
Rodgers saw Leicester City beat Atalanta 2-1 without the England defender, who is closing in on a world record £85million move to Old Trafford.
The Northern Irishman confirmed a fee had been agreed between the two with Maguire now set to undergo a medical ahead of signing a six-year deal.
He said: "A fee has been agreed and it’s our job to look forward.
"It’s an incredible piece of business but if you look at the market it changes.
"He’s a top-class player and a good man.
"He knows there’s been interest and he’s been super professional.
"But Harry or anyone will always have a valuation."
Rodgers later added: "As it stands of course there’s been contact between the two clubs. A fee has been agreed.
"Then it’s a case of him having the opportunity to speak to them and see if they can come to an agreement over personal terms.
"That’s something that's of interest to him – and then of course a medical.
"After that there is not a great deal more to say. Probably after the weekend – one way or another we will know more.
"But clearly the two clubs have been talking and have agreed a fee."
Rodgers said the club have been "preparing" for his departure and already have "a number" of potential replacements lined up.
"The club and the recruitment team have been very, very good," said Rodgers.
"We have got a number of options if Harry does go.that we will look at.
"And that's something that has always been in the pipeline, really – I think it's always important at this stage of the season, if you are going to lose a player and a player of that quality, that the options are there.
"That's something the club has and we will see over the course of the next 48 hours if we need to activate those."
Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu, 23, played against Atalanta and Rodgers reckons he could be a possible replacement for Maguire.
"That was the idea of having a look," Rodgers said.
"I know what Wes [Morgan] can do, Filip Benkovic isn't up to speed in terms of his fitness and Cags come in and I thought he did very, very well.
"Like I say, we will know more over the course of the weekend, but the players have been excellent over the course of pre-season.
"You can see their fitness and the quality in their game, and the intensity of their play.
"If we can do some more business then great, if not, then we will go with what we have got"
But Rodgers admitted that the Old Trafford-bound player will leave a massive hole in his squad.
"Listen, he's a really special player. What he is is a good man," he said.
"You are going to be really disappointed if you were to lose any of your best players, but it's part and parcel of football, it's what happens.
"You have got to have other players in the pipeline who can come in, players that are hungry, that want to improve and want to develop.
"If it is the case, then of course, we would look forward and would have to assess it from there."
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