Not wanting to pay 75m for van dijk will look really bad if we end up paying it for maguire.
Can we really compare the two in this regard?
Maguire's fee is very much due to his being a HG player who can get games for a side that demands a particular skill set in his position, and we will need a HG player assuming Pep is done with Delph,
I don't love the fee either for what you are actually getting in terms of quality, but he's a squad player for us who can challenge Stones for games, and offers a lot in the air, which we will miss with no Vinny, whilst Nico's smaller size (if he were to stay) means he has to time his headers better, and is surely on the downside of his athletic ability, which he relies upon to get up.
Harry fills a need even if he isn't an improvement. The market for HG centre halves that can play under Pep is not exactly brimming. Remember we almost signed JFE before West Brom wanted too much.
De Ligt wants massive wages, which we won't do, and we still need a HG player somewhere. Koulibaly is going to cost a huge fee, also not as young as Maguire, less proven in the PL, and again, isn't HG. Where then now will we find one to replace Delph now that we re-signed ZInch, after we were looking at Chilwell? Oh, and we were ready to overpay for Chilwell too I suspect.
This being said, 2 seasons ago I wrote on another City forum we would be interested in Maguire due to his skill set and Pep's style of play. He is a fit, even if he has his flaws.