"Loved it" - Harry Maguire looks back at Sheffield United days as he prepares to lead Man Utd against his boyhood club

Maguire, who became the most expensive defender in football history when he moved to Old Trafford in an £80m deal, came through United's academy and cut his teeth in League One with the Blades, before moving to Hull City.

A spell with Leicester City established him as one of the Premier League's best defenders, and Maguire will lock horns with the Blades again tomorrow evening at Old Trafford.

And, speaking on the official Manchester United podcast, he recalled those early days and how they set him on to the path of superstardom.

"I loved it," Maguire said of his time at the original United.

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"I had some ups and downs; when I was a second-year scholar I found myself in and out of the team and it's crazy how things can turn. At that age you don't know how close you are to the first team, you don't really believe how close you are. But it's just around the corner, and when the opportunity comes you've got to take it.

"I had two big influences at United: one was Chris Morgan, who had a nasty injury. I grew up watching him for United and then ended up on the coaching team when I was breaking through, and he had a big influence on my defensive part of the game.

"And when I broke in I always played alongside Neill Collins, who was massive for my development and told me when I was doing anything wrong. I got an earful every now and then! But he was great and those two are a big part of where I am and where I'm playing now."

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Maguire played over 150 times for the Blades as they tried to escape from the third tier of English football, and was part of the Blades side that lost in the play-off final on penalties to Huddersfield Town.

At United he played alongside Conor Coady, now a fellow England international, and looks back on those days with much fondness.

"In League One I was playing against loads of old-fashioned, experienced strikers who brought out the physical attributes in me," Maguire added.

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"I was a young boy coming through and got a lot of help from the experienced lads but great faith and confidence was given to me by the manager. There were probably times I was playing and made a couple of mistakes, and some other managers may have said: 'Right, get the young lad out'.

"But to be fair to Danny Wilson, he played me in every game. I could make a mistake, play a short backpass and lose the game, and I'd play the next game where some other managers would have gone with the experience.

"That was a massive part of my development and my game. I think I got in the team of the year three years on the spin in League One, so it was a great achievement for myself."

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