Manchester United "caved in" during negotiations to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

England centre-back Harry Maguire agreed a six-year deal at Old Trafford, joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side for a reported fee of £80million - a world record for a defender.

The transfer sparked widespread debate about the size of the fee, with Liverpool's £75m centre-back Virgil van Dijk warning "the price comes with pressure".

Kieran Maguire, senior teacher in accountancy at the University of Liverpool, believes Leicester made the most of having the upper hand in talks.

"In terms of the price paid for Harry Maguire, Leicester were in an excellent negotiating position," he told Omnisport.

"They know Manchester United are desperate to get back into the Champions League positions, Harry Maguire was on a long-term contract, Leicester didn't need to sell.

"Therefore, they were able to reject all of the initial offers and hold back until we're nearly at the end of the transfer window, and United caved in."

Kieran Maguire thinks huge fees for defensive players will become increasingly common as clubs use detailed analysis to ascertain the value of having a solid rearguard that can also help build attacks.

He said: "Many companies these days are using big data, and they can see that the value of having a solid defence can make a significant difference to your end of season haul of points.

"As a consequence of that they've started to invest in defenders, when historically the focus would have been on attacking players.

"I think what we've seen over the course of the last couple of years is that the price of goalkeepers has gone up as clubs have realised that actually they want to play 11-man football, so they're using goalkeepers who are competent with their feet.

"But also they're looking for defenders who can bring the ball out, who can link up with the rest of the team as opposed to being merely a player who could clear the ball. So therefore somebody like Harry Maguire, who is a ball-playing defender, carries a premium price."