Liverpool told to make unthinkable Man Utd transfer to solve major Arne Slot problem

Liverpool has been told to pursue a remarkable transfer for a Man Utd player. The advice comes from a former Red, who believes it would fix an Arne Slot issue.

Under-fire Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been told to make an audacious Man Utd transfer raid to solve his issues. (Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Liverpool and Manchester United do not mix. Michael Owen, Anfield's only ever winner of the Ballon d'Or, is now persona non grata for that very reason.

And Owen made the move to Man Utd in the twilight of his career, with limited other options and after a gap of two clubs and five years. That's not a bid to drum up symptathy for the former striker, but it underlines the strength of feeling across the divide.

So it would be truly remarkable to see a player directly swap one club for the other. But that's what one former teammate of Owen's is advocating, telling Arne Slot to look to Old Trafford for the answer to one of his problems.

There is little doubt that Slot is facing something of a defensive crisis. With Ibrahima Konate still on compassionate leave and Joe Gomez sidelined by yet another injury, the manager has conceded that there will be at least one makeshift center-back in action against Qarabag.

It's a worrying indictment that he doesn't feel able to call upon any of the youth team options. Amara Nallo has been added to the Champions League squad, but both of his Liverpool appearances to date have ended in red cards, and Slot clearly does not trust him to start.

The club has sought to remedy that this month, with the only January activity coming in the form of a flurry of youth-team buys in defense. Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye have both strengthened the junior ranks at center-back.

But in the medium-term future, Liverpool needs more experience and reliability in the heart of its defense. And Didi Hamann believes that could come from Man Utd, and specifically from Harry Maguire.

Liverpool has been told to pursue a sensational transfer for Harry Maguire. (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Maguire is out of contract at Man Utd at the end of the season. Hamann thinks he would add much-needed depth:

"You’ve got to give it to Harry Maguire because he got so much stick in the last few years and he always comes back," Hamann told CasinoBeats. "If he’s available on a free then [you] obviously have to think about it because I think what Liverpool need is more depth at the back.

"Joe Gomez has been around the squad for a long time but he’s never really been a starter for the team. Connor Bradley is out now through injury, we’ll have to see how it affects him when he comes back.

"I think Liverpool need depth in the right-back position too; Frimpong is not a right-back, I think he gets away with playing there sometimes but he’s not a right-back. I think they need a couple of players at the back."

Didi Hamann is behind the surprising Maguire to Liverpool idea. (Image: Sebastian El-Saqqa - firo sportphoto/Getty Images)

If signed as a free agent, Maguire would not technically become the first player to transfer directly between Liverpool and Man Utd since 1964. Nevertheless, that 60-year gap should say everything about the likelihood of a deal being struck.

But if we were to entertain the idea for a moment, would the England international be a shrewd addition? At 32 (he'll be 33 by the summer), he would certainly add more experience, but would do precious little in terms of successsion planning for Virgil van Dijk and an out-of-contract Konate.

He's on high wages, too. That would mean Liverpool rolling the dice with yet another big contract for a veteran; while Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah may have earned such exceptions (and even that has not gone well so far, it has to be said), the same is not true of Maguire.

How he might fit into the Anfield system is rather hard to answer without knowing whether Slot will keep his job beyond the summer. But regardless of whether Liverpool sticks with the Dutchman, you'd wager that the club will be looking for a more dynamic, front-footed center-back.

And as Hamann himself said, Liverpool could also do with more depth at right-back. If it were minded to make any additions purely for extra depth, you would imagine it would seek someone who can play both positions, which Maguire cannot.

To cut a long story short, then, it's hard to see a world in which this transfer could even get off the ground. It's always tempting to ask the question when "free" transfer possibilites for established players roll around, but Maguire would come with plenty of costs; there's nowhere near enough upside to consider crossing the forbidden line.