Leicester City sign Hull defender Maguire

Britain Soccer Football - Stoke City v Hull City - Premier League - bet365 Stadium - 15/4/17 Hull City's Harry Maguire celebrates scoring their first goal Reuters / Anthony Devlin Livepic/files

REUTERS - Leicester City signed Hull City centre back Harry Maguire on a five-year contract on Thursday.

The 24-year-old, who made 36 appearances for Hull last season, will join Craig Shakespeare's side in July ahead of their pre-season camp in Austria.

"It’s obviously a very exciting time for myself. There were a number of clubs interested, but when I met the manager here, he pretty much swayed it into the direction of this club," Maguire said in a statement.

"He showed me the way the club is going. It's on the up and it looks very promising for the future, so credit to the gaffer."

Maguire began his career at Sheffield United in 2011, making over 100 appearances across three seasons before joining Hull City.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich)