Manchester City are set to pull out of the Harry Maguire race after Foxes slap mammoth £90 million price tag on is head.

According to the Daily Mail, Leicester City’s valuation of their England defender was designed for one of two reasons; to ward off interest or to take advantage of clubs desperate enough to fork out – i.e. Manchester United, who ESPN claimed were not put off by a figure of £80m. 

City boss Pep Guardiola reportedly intended to replace Vincent Kompany with Harry Maguire, but the price is well over what the club are willing to pay, despite the riches in play behind the scenes at the Etihad.

The champions have shown time and time again that they’re made of more than simply throwing money at players and “buying the league,” having already turned down the chances to sign Alexis Sanchez and Fred, both of whom have ended up at close rivals Manchester United, with little to no positive effect. Smart? Incredibly.

Surely, Manchester City are now at a stage of greatness where they can quite simply pick almost any player they please. Leicester are asking for £90 million? Move on. Indeed, it’s a smart way to conduct business - not to be held hostage by the seller; to avoid bidding wars and the like.

Maguire is clearly a good player and there are obvious benefits to signing him but £90m would see him overtake Virgil van Dijk as the world's most expensive defender. The England international, while impressive, has done little to show he's worthy of such a fee.

Of course, while we all agree that Maguire is a good player - boasting on average one tackle per game, 1.2 interceptions, 4.9 clearances last season – maybe Manchester City are wise to heed warnings from history, avoid inflated transfer sagas and look elsewhere.

Manchester City fans, would you be willing to pay £90 million for Maguire? Can you think of a better option? Let us know in the comments below…