Aston Villa have reportedly been in touch with Manchester United to register their interest in signing Harry Maguire during this summer's transfer window.
The Red Devils have accepted a £30m bid from West Ham United for Maguire, but a switch to the London Stadium has stalled, with personal terms believed to be a problem.
The England international's current salary at Old Trafford is thought to be around £190,000 a week, but West Ham are only said to be willing to offer £120,000 a week, meaning that he would have to accept a pay cut to move to the capital outfit.
There have been suggestions that Man United would be willing to give Maguire a £6m pay-off to leave the club, but a move to the Europa Conference League winners is currently up in the air.
According to FootballTransfers, Villa are keen to take advantage of the uncertainty, with Unai Emery's side registering their interest in the 30-year-old.
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The report claims that Villa could move for a centre-back in the coming weeks after Tyrone Mings suffered a serious knee injury during their 5-1 loss to Newcastle United on Saturday.
Mings was stretched off in the first half of the game at St James' Park, and there are fears that the defender could miss the entire campaign depending on the seriousness of the damage.
"It doesn't look good. The doctor is telling us we have to wait for the scan," Villa boss Emery told reporters following the heavy loss at Newcastle.
Villa are allegedly waiting to learn the extent of the issue before deciding whether to officially make a bid for Maguire, but there have been early talks between the two clubs.
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Maguire is still thought to be leaning towards a switch to West Ham despite the current speculation, although Villa would allegedly be prepared to better the offer from the Hammers.
Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag said on Friday that the England international would be available for the team's Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
However, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are set to start in the middle of the defence, with Maguire likely to be on the bench alongside fellow centre-back Victor Lindelof.
Ten Hag has said on two separate occasions this summer that he wants to keep Maguire, but the club's decision to accept the recent £30m offer from West Ham demonstrates their willingness to let him depart before the end of the market.
The former Sheffield United youngster arrived at Old Trafford from Leicester City in the summer of 2019, and he has represented the club on 175 occasions in all competitions.
Matt Law
