Leicester City hit huge transfer jackpot at Hull City’s expense - they’ll always thank Man Utd | OneFootball

Harry Maguire's £80m sale to Man United helped Leicester to a period of immense success

Leicester City turned a £17 million transfer for Harry Maguire into an £80 million sale to Manchester United.

The Foxes reportedly signed the centre-back in 2017 for a £17 million fee following the Tigers’ relegation from the Premier League.

The defender was a key part of the side as the Yorkshire outfit narrowly missed out on remaining in the top flight after the team came 18th in the table, six points adrift of Watford.

He played 29 times in the top flight, and he was on the cusp of the England national team following his performances for Hull, which led to Leicester pursuing his signature.

And his signing proved a real masterstroke for the Foxes, who had finished an underwhelming 12th in the table in the year after their remarkable title victory.

Maguire established himself as a top Premier League and England star at the King Power Stadium, which netted the club an incredible £80 million figure just two years after his arrival.

Harry Maguire sale funded 2019 summer spree

Maguire helped Leicester to consecutive ninth place finishes during his two-year spell at the club.

He even contributed five goals and four assists in 69 Premier League appearances, while also becoming an important part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

The centre-back was a central figure to their 2018 World Cup campaign in which they reached a first semi-final since 1990, coming fourth.

His £80 million departure to Old Trafford 12 months later helped fund a big summer spend at the King Power Stadium that was key to propelling Brendan Rodgers’ side to European qualification.

The likes of Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez, James Justin and Dennis Praet were all signed, with Leicester finishing fifth.

Rodgers’ side narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League, coming only four points behind fourth place Chelsea.

A year later the Foxes again finished fifth, but they got their revenge on the Blues with an FA Cup final triumph, winning the competition for the first time in their history.

It was Tielemans’ strike that sealed a historic 1-0 win at Wembley Stadium, and it was all the sweeter that Leicester eliminated Maguire’s Man United side from the tournament at the quarter-final stages as well, with the Belgian again playing a crucial role.

Leicester thrived without Maguire at Hull City’s expense

Hull have not returned to the Premier League in the years since Maguire’s sale to Leicester.

The £17 million figure from his sale was a great sum to receive at the time, but the Tigers could have potentially held onto the defender had they been able to overcome that gap to Watford.

Given the Foxes went on to earn a huge £63 million profit from the centre-back, Hull must wonder what could’ve been had they finished on the right side of the relegation zone in 2017 instead.

While Leicester’s own success post-Maguire didn’t last, nothing will ever take away from the joy the supporters experienced in winning the FA Cup for the first time.

Two campaigns in the Europa League also allowed fans to experience continental football, with the team reaching the knockout stages of the competition in 2021, before earning their place in the semi-finals of the Conference League in 2022.

Leicester have Man United to thank for the £80 million fee for Maguire that helped bring such an influential figure like Tielemans to the club and the success that came with that.