I signed Harry Maguire for Hull City – but I had a major concern about him

Manchester United icon Steve Bruce has confessed that Harry Maguire's lack of speed was a concern when he signed him for Hull City.

Bruce, who managed the Tigers for four years, was instrumental in bringing Maguire to the club in 2014 from Sheffield United, his boyhood team, in a deal worth £2.5million.

The England star spent three fruitful years in Yorkshire, earning promotion to the Premier League in 2016 alongside Liverpool great Andy Robertson, reports the Manchester Evening News.

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After Hull's relegation to the Championship a year later, Maguire made a £12million switch to Leicester City where he quickly made his mark, scooping both player of the season and players' player of the season at the club's end-of-season awards.

Just two years later, the England international became the world's priciest defender when he joined Manchester United for a whopping £80million in 2019. He was appointed captain six months later, but his time at Old Trafford has been marred by disappointment, losing the captaincy to Bruno Fernandes and his spot in the starting lineup.

In a chat with Betway, Bruce revealed that while he recognised Maguire's talent when he played for Sheffield United, one aspect of his game gave him pause.

"My chief scout at the time, Stan Ternant, said to me: 'I've just seen an interesting player play for Sheffield United. This kid is good in both boxes. He told me he's 21, he's played 150 times for Sheffield United, he's the captain, he won Player of the Year three years on the spin'."

"He said: 'I believe the kid's got something', so we went to watch him and I was a little bit worried when I first saw him, because of his mobility." Despite enduring a difficult spell at Old Trafford where he has been dropped from the starting lineup several times this season, Bruce maintained that Maguire has been unfairly shouldered with blame.

He stated: "You understand when he's not there how much you miss him. He's resilient. He's got something about him. He's never let England down and, for me, he's never let Manchester United down either."

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