Harry Maguire, the former Red Devils captain, appears to be on his way to joining another Premier League team, thus Manchester United appears to have chosen a top candidate to replace him this summer.

Maguire might depart Manchester United this summer.

Several sources claim that the 30-year-old is close to agreeing to a £30 million transfer to West Ham United, putting an end to his tumultuous spell at Old Trafford. United appear to have compromised on their initial £50 million value of the England international.

In light of that impending move to the London Stadium, renowned journalist Samuel Luckhurst tweeted that Bayer Leverkusen star Edmond Tapsoba is “of interest” to Erik ten Hag and company. The 24-year-old has also caught the attention of Tottenham Hotspur during their own center-back search this summer.

Luckhurst wrote in his article for the Manchester Evening News that the Burkina Faso international is ‘admired’ by the United management and that the Carabao Cup winners are ‘attempting’ to sign another central defender in light of Maguire’s likely departure.

Is Edmond Tapsoba any good?

It appears that Maguire’s time is up. The former Leicester City player needs a new beginning after receiving criticism and derision recently at the Theatre of Dreams. The Athletic’s Carl Anka wrote that the 6 foot 3 dummy “found himself derided, dropped, and turned into a meme.”

While Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, and Raphael Varane remain Ten Hag’s primary choices at centre back, more competition and coverage are likely to be required as the team prepares to contend on four fronts once more.

Jacek Kulig, a talent scout, described Tapsoba as a “perfect & elegant” defender, thus the 6’4″ rock may not be an inexpensive option for the Red Devils, even if he has recently been rated at roughly €50m (£43m).

Although Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich is rumoured to be moving to Manchester, it appears that Ten Hag is looking to the Bundesliga for a new center-back recruit. Despite Pavard’s World Cup-winning experience, his Leverkusen counterpart may provide a more conventional fit in the centre of the defence since he also frequently plays right-back.

Tapsoba has the ability to move the ball out of the backfield relatively easily. In fact, the former Vitoria de Guimaraes player ranks in the top 7% of players in his position in the top five leagues in Europe for both progressive carries per 90 and successful take-ons per 90.

While Pavard, a former Stuttgart player, does remarkably rank in the top 8% for progressive carries, he only scores in the bottom 6% for successful take-ons, suggesting that he may be less successful at taking on his man when in possession.

The value of being able to play out from the back is likely to have grown for Ten Hag with the addition of Andre Onana, who Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has referred to as a “exceptional” ball-playing custodian.

In addition, expert Aaron Moniz claims that Pavard, who is 27 years old and not exactly a long-term option, is “a bit older than ideal and sub-elite at both RB and CB,” but Tapsoba and fellow target Jean-Clair Todibo are believed to have the “right profiles.”

That would imply that if United selects the Leverkusen star this summer, he might end up being a stalwart in the backline for many years to come.