Man Utd fan has theory the club is actually making a 'profit' on Harry Maguire if he joins West Ham

A Manchester United has a theory the club will make a profit on Harry Maguire if he joins West Ham United.

United paid a record £80million to make Harry Maguire the world’s most expensive defender back in 2019.

Four years later, he is set to leave Old Trafford for West Ham in a £30million deal, after being stripped of the captaincy and slipping to fifth choice centre back under Erik ten Hag.

Despite a lucrative contract with a least two years remaining, and Ten Hag saying publicly Maguire was still part of his plans, a fresh start appears the best move for all parties.

With Euro 2024 on the horizon, England boss Gareth Southgate has told Maguire he needed to play more often to secure his place in the squad.

In turn, Maguire looks set to join the Hammers, with United seemingly making a £50million loss.

However one United fan has claimed the club could actually be making a profit on the defender.

On Twitter (x) prominent United supporter The Ferguson Way, said: “Thinking out loud here.

“Maguire signed for £80m in 2019 on a 6-year contract.

“If that's amortized over 6 years, his value would have now stood at £26.67m. So, by selling him for £30m, we are making a profit on Maguire as per the books? How does this work?”

Despite the impressive and optimistic mental gymnastics, the theory was somewhat debunked by football finance expert Kevin Maguire.

Maguire said: “An accounting profit? Yes. A cash profit…No.”

Moreover, several people stressed that Maguire’s wages needed to be amortized across the six years he was contracted to be at the club.

Maxmufc7 said: “In theory yes in reality no as you need to amortise his wages over the 6 years so that would make it a loss.”

Moreover, AvijitGuptaa wrote: “You are correct but also have to consider the wage to an extent which were £10m per season with the UCL bonus kicking in this season. So a lot of good stuff for United's books here.”