GM, Free Agents.

Welcome to the The Free Transfer— the 5-min daily newsletter making you smarter about football.

It’s the Tuesday Transfer Express! 🚂 🚃 🚃

What we’ve got for today:

• Harry Maguire redemption arc? 📈 

• L”USA”FC— Leeds’ American experiment is over 🦅 

• Joao Cancelo is 100% leaving Manchester City; Bayern will not buy him ❌ 🔙 

• Pavard set to leave Bayern Munich this summer ✈️ 

HARRY MAGUIRE CAN REVIVE CAREER & LEGACY WITH THE RIGHT MOVE 👀 

People are quick to forget that Harry Maguire was the most sought-after centerback in the Premier League just 4 years ago.

There was an all-out bidding war between Pep Guardiola & Jose Mourinho to sign the England & then-Leicester centerback.

But don’t take it from us, go to 0:36 of this video to hear it from Pep’s mouth back in the 2019-20 season ⤵️ 

What happened? 🔍️ 

Harry Maguire is a gargantuan, ball-playing centerback. He is not quick or nimble, but a giant that dominates the aerial game. He likes to charge into the midfield to help his team advance upfield.

In his first season or so, he was a welcomed force at the back helping to stabilize United’s defense. Errors & a goofy affect made him an easy target on social media & regular media, where he became the scapegoat for United’s team woes.

In recent seasons, he has become the posterboy for the club’s huge spending & lofty ambitions not lining up with their results. United’s other players haven’t performed extremely well in recent seasons either, but Maguire is low-hanging fruit. That being said, he has not helped his case by trying to take things into his own hands— forcing the issue, making errors, which causes media ridicule, killing his confidence, overcompensate, rinse & repeat.

This has now gone on for 2 or 3 years, and it’s time for Maguire to seek new pastures. Sometimes a relationship just is not good for either party. That does not mean that either party are bad individuals, but together they just don’t make any sense.

That is exactly the feeling that we get when we see United play well without Maguire, and then see Maguire always play well for the England national team.

Where could he land? 🛬 

Aston Villa

Maguire was heavily linked with a move to Aston Villa last summer.

This move could make a lot of sense for both Maguire & Villa. They just qualified for Europe for the first time in 13 years, & will need some quality to help them battle on many fronts next season. He could add starting quality to a centerback rotation of Mings, Konsa, & (injured the whole season) Diego Carlos.

Fit: 8/10

Tottenham

A team in dire need of quality defenders. Maguire has always played well in a 3-back for England, & could fit in nicely to the center of theirs. He would complement the qualities that Romero & Lenglet have already— aggressive anticipation & good ball-playing. Though, without Europe next season, Spurs may not need another senior centerback unless they were to move on both Dier & Sanchez.

Fit: 8/10

Newcastle

This one could seem surprising given that Newcastle are a UCL club, but they have very poor depth at CB. If Schar or Botman get injured, they currently only have Jamaal Lascelles to cover them. There is no doubt Newcastle will be buying defenders this summer.

Maguire could slot in very nicely to Schar’s role as the ball-playing CB who likes to advance the ball into midfield, while dominating aerial duels. He fits Eddie Howe’s “we’re going to bully you off the park with height & physicality” prerequisites too. His experience for England in the World Cup & Euros, as well as in UCL & UEL for Manchester United, could be a huge boost for Newcastle.

Fit: 9/10

Decisions, decisions ⚖️ 

Wherever Maguire chooses next, it needs to be done carefully. His next move can help rebuild his reputation or further destroy it.

Staying in the Premier League is the most likely scenario, but a move to a foreign league like the Serie A could rebuild his reputation as it did for other former United players like Lukaku, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian, Alexis Sanchez, etc.

LEEDS’ AMERICAN EXPERIMENT COMES TO AN END 🦅 

There was lots of buzz among American PL fans this past summer when Leeds’ American manager, Jesse Marsch, signed US national team members Brendan Aaronson & Tyler Adams. The excitement increased in January when fellow American Weston McKennie signed on loan from Juventus.

That was about as good as it got, though.

How did they fare? 🔍️ 

Jesse Marsch

Jesse Marsch, in fairness, kept Leeds in the PL last season despite being given the team in a 18th place with 9 matches to play.

His brand of football is the “Redbull way” (he came from RB Salzburg), which means lots of man to man pressing. To do that, you have to be extremely physical compared to your opponents. That may work in a less physical league like the German or Austrian Bundesliga, but in the Premier League where every team is already very physical, you have to be next-level physical (see: Newcastle or 2018-2021 Liverpool) for that to be your main differentiator.

We’ll save the longform Leeds 2022-23 piece for another day though.

Gaffer’s grade for the season: 4/10

Brendan Aaaronson

In 28 starts he has 1 goal & 3 assists.

• This is not productive enough to be a starting #10 in the PL.

He presses like crazy, which is a great trait for a #8/#10.

His end product leaves a lot to be desired. For someone turning 23 this year, he has a lot to work on.

A year in the Championship could be good for him, but he could be on the move due to Leeds’ relegation ⤵️ 

Gaffer’s grade for the season: 6/10

Tyler Adams

What a season for Tyler Adams.

He was the first name on the teamsheet for Leeds before a season-ending muscle injury in early May.

Adams is unbelievable in counterpressing & winning the ball back. He is nimble, athletic, & extremely smart when challenging for the ball.

Outside of winning the ball back, he can still take his game to another level. He was neither the best passer nor dribbler in the middle of the park this season. When out on the right wing in possession, his passing & ball progressing was much better though.

It will be extremely difficult for Leeds to hold on to Adams this summer, as many PL clubs will be circling after their relegation. Manchester United have been linked recently; Arsenal in the past.

From the January 2022 transfer window 👆️ 

Ten Hag & Arteta would find his profile extremely useful as an inverted right back that can play as a hybrid RB/#6— his added value in possession is much better off to the right. Arsenal & United have been linked to many of these profiles already for the summer (Caicedo, Fresneda, etc.)

Gaffer’s grade for the season: 9/10

Weston McKennie

Playing in every match since his January move from Juventus, McKennie has had his opportunity to leave a good impression at Leeds.

He is known for making late box runs to score goals, being a vicious tackler in midfield, & a solid distributor.

For an albeit poor Leeds side, he was sloppy in possession, was often caught out of position defensively, & did not offer much going forward. Things declined further once his US national teammate Tyler Adams got injured. Despite this, you can not fault him for the effort & energy he gave in his performances.

He will return to Juventus in the summer, in hopes of a move away to find more regular playing time like he did at Leeds. A move back to the Bundesliga or a bottom half Premier League side where he can be a guaranteed starter would probably be the best fit.

He has a lot more to offer than what he got to show at Leeds.

Gaffer’s grade for the (half) season: 4/10

JOAO CANCELO IS 100% LEAVING MAN CITY; BAYERN WILL NOT BUY HIM ❌ 🔙 

Joao Cancelo is homeless. Manchester City want to sell him, & Bayern Munich will not be buying him.

Where could he land? 🛬 

Check out our piece on potential destinations for Cancelo from last week, here ⤵️ 

You can add Barcelona to the list of potential landing spots. 👀 

More on this soon.

BENJAMIN PAVARD SET TO LEAVE BAYERN MUNICH THIS SUMMER ✈️ 

Benjamin Pavard has decided not to renew his contract at Bayern with only a year left on his current. This means that he will likely be sold this summer.

Rumored destinations 🤔 

Barcelona

Rumors of Pavard to Barca have been going on for about a year now. He would fit very nicely into Jules Kounde’s inverted RB position in Xavi’s system, allowing Kounde to play his true position at RCB. It’s no secret that Barca are looking for a right back this summer (see: links to Cancelo).

Fit: tactical—9/10, financial— 5/10

Manchester United

Like Barca, Manchester United have made it clear they need a right back. Similar to Tyler Adams, Pavard can play the inverted RB role very well in Ten Hag’s system.

Fit: tactical— 9/10, financial— 9/10

Chelsea

Chelsea have a bloated dressing room— more than 40 senior players. That being said, they are losing Azpilicueta & possibly Trevoh Chalobah. Both play the same RB/RCB hybrid that Pavard does. Thoguh with the arrival of Malo Gusto from Lyon things could get crowded:

• RCB: Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Fofana

• RB: Reece James, Malo Gusto

Fit: tactical— 7/10, financial— 10/10

More transfer content to come with the transfer window opening in a few days!

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Cheers,

The Gaffer

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