David Moyes Reveals He Turned Down Chance to Sign Harry Maguire Because of His 'Big Arse'

Manchester United's new £80m star Harry Maguire may be known for his large 'slabhead' but former boss David Moyes has revealed that the Old Trafford club were actually scouting the defender during his tenure only to ultimately turn him over concerns over his 'big arse'. Yes, you read that correctly.

Moyes, who joined the Red Devils in 2013, and left just 11 months later after a disastrous campaign, was speaking on TalkSPORT when he admitted that he had the chance to sign the defender from Sheffield United, but backed out due to concerns about his size. 

The Scotsman explained: "We didn't try to sign him but we flagged him up at that time.

Marc Atkins/GettyImages

"I was very aware of the players in the lower leagues and had a made good career out of bringing them to Everton - whether that be Tim Cahill or all the ones we did through the years.

"Harry Maguire was another one I recognised. He played against Preston North End at home in a league game and I watched him and thought he played really well but at that time he was really big - he had a big arse. You thought 'my goodness, how big is Harry going to be' because he was a relatively young boy at that time."

Moyes' apparent phobia of large behinds may also explain why he never pursued a deal for Eden Hazard.

Maguire was eventually picked up by Hull in July 2014 for a relatively measly £2.84m (on the same day as future Liverpool star Andy Robertson), before eventually moving to Leicester for around £12m, the club he left last week for a world-record fee.

Moyes continued: "To be fair he looks in terrific shape and he hasn't changed at all really. When I went to United, we had Vidic, Rio, Jonny Evans, Michael Keane, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling.

"So for us to go and buy another young centre-half wasn't the biggest thing we needed at the time. And Harry Maguire has had to go on his journey. Sometimes the players need the journey to get to where they have to go. He might have struggled then."

Speaking after his triumphant debut against Chelsea on Sunday, after which he was handed the man of the match award, Maguire admitted: "It's a great start for myself and the team.

"We rode our luck a bit in the first half. We gave them too many chances and were sloppy on the ball but in the second half we were much better. We only kept two clean sheets at home last season and we have really got to make it a hard place to come and score."