Brendan Rodgers Praises Harry Maguire Ahead of Manchester United vs. Leicester

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Manchester United's Harry Maguire ahead of the meeting between the two teams Saturday in the Premier League.

Following a summer of relentless transfer speculation, the Red Devils eventually made Maguire the most expensive defender in the history of the game, shelling out £80 million to the Foxes to bring in the England international.

Leicester will come face to face with their former player at Old Trafford on Saturday. Rodgers has said Maguire deserves credit for the manner in which he acted during the summer saga, per Sky Sports:

"I text Harry still now, wish him the best when he was playing with England. He was a remarkable guy and a fantastic player and for me, his behaviour in the period that he was here, really typified him as a man.

"Even though it was so difficult for him right the way through the summer, from the end of the season right the way through... I'll always have a big respect for him for that. He's a good guy and he's gone in there and you can see he's made them better."

Although Maguire has enjoyed a solid start to life at United, the team continues to underwhelm. Having beaten Chelsea 4-0 on the opening weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have only taken two points from three games against Wolves, Crystal Palace and Southampton.

By contrast, Leicester have impressed in their first four games and sit in third position going into the weekend, having accumulated eight points.

Maguire's preparation for the game on Saturday hasn't been ideal, as he had a tough night for England on Tuesday in their 5-3 win over Kosovo, giving away a soft penalty:

The match against Leicester will be a challenge for the defender. Not only will there be a lot of focus on him in the buildup to the game and on his performance, but the Foxes also have some excellent attacking players.

James Maddison and Youri Tielemans have provided creativity in spades from midfield, while Jamie Vardy is a constant threat at the top end of the pitch.

Given Maguire isn't the quickest, the searing speed and clinical finishing of the striker may be an issue for the United man:

At the back, Caglar Soyuncu has stepped in and helped fill the void left by Maguire for the Foxes too:

The new United defender has offered a presence at the centre of defence for Solskjaer, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka has also shored up the right flank with some dominant displays at full-back. There are other areas of the team where United can be exposed by high-quality opposition though, most notably in midfield.

Leicester have shown enough in their opening games to suggest they are a genuine rival to United for a top-six berth this term. It's in these types of tight encounters when United fans will be hoping the world's most expensive defender can be decisive for their side.