Manchester United are reportedly willing to pay £80 million to land Leicester City star Harry Maguiire, Leicestershire reports.

That's according to Sky Sports, who say the Red Devils are prepared to make Maguire the most expensive defender in the world to land him before the deadline, which is a week on Thursday (August 8).

United have been chasing the Foxes centre back throughout the summer, already submitting two bids.

The latest, worth around £70 million, was swiftly rejected by City who are holding out for a fee significantly more than the world-record fee for a defender - the record currently standing at £75 million.

Reports now claim United are willing to give the Foxes what they want, planning an £80 million offer, which could be enough to sway City given Maguire himself has expressed an interest to leave should the valuation be met.

Read: Neymar is innocent - Rape case dropped

The Red Devils are yet to make another bid but time is running out with Brendan Rodgers saying there would be a cut-off point before the end of the window after which the Foxes would not accept an offer even if the valuation was met.

United are desperate for a centre back this summer and their need has only been heightened in the last week with defender Eric Bailly suffering a long-term knee injury.

Bailly is set to miss at least four months with injury, leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men desperately short at the back.

But that's exactly the situation Leicester want to avoid with concerns that if they allow Maguire to leave late in the window, they won't be able to source a replacement.

The Foxes are very likely to have put contingency plans in place in anticipation of Maguire's possible departure with Brighton's Lewis Dunk and Burnley's James Tarkowski linked.