Name: Chris Maguire
Born: 16 January 1989 (age 32 years), Bellshill
Previous Club: Sunderland
Contract Expires: June 2023
Lincoln Appearances:
2021/22 – Appearances 32 (4) Goals 5
2022/23 – Appearances 1 (2) Goals 0
Achievements
Aberdeen
Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: February 2010, September 2010
Oxford United
EFL Trophy runner-up: 2015–16, 2016–17
League Two runner-up: 2015–16
Sunderland
EFL Trophy: 2020–21
EFL League One Goal of the Month: September 2018, October 2018
Imps
SW Player of the Month: October 2022
Maguire, who appeared twice for Scotland, started his career with Aberdeen, where he spent six seasons making 131 SPFL appearances and appearing in the Europa League and UEFA Cup. That earned him a move to Derby County for a fee thought to be around £400,000, but he struggled at Pride Park, appearing seven times in the Championship, scoring once in a 3-1 win against Portsmouth. He was praised during his time there, but he was kept down the pecking order by several attackers, one of which was former Imp Theo Robinson.
During his spell with the Rams, he moved to Portsmouth, where he first played for Michael Appleton. Appleton was hugely impressed by the forward and was keen to keep him at Fratton Park, saying, “I tried to get him in January, but it didn’t quite happen. I am glad he is here now. He’s enjoying his football and the opportunity to show he is a talent.” His loan was extended and he scored three goals in 11 matches, even picking up Pompey’s Player of the Month award, ironically at the beginning of their game against Derby County, which he couldn’t feature in. Pompey were relegated at the end of the season, and Maguire returned to Derby.
His spell with the Rams was almost at an end though, as Sheffield Wednesday coveted his services. He joined them on a three-year deal shortly after their promotion to the second-tier and went on to make 79 Championship appearances over three seasons, scoring 18 times. He also had a short stint on loan with Coventry City, bagging two League One goals in three appearances before a move to Rotherham and Steve Evans. That didn’t work out (shocker), and Evans loaned him to Oxford, managed by Michael. After a six-game loan spell, his move to oxford was made permanent and he earned the first promotion of his career as they finished second in League One.
The following season he bagged 13 League One goals as Oxford just missed out on a top-six place, but was a runner-up at Wembley in the EFL Trophy for a second successive season. At the Kassam, he was a key figure for Michael Appleton, and he spoke of his ‘connection‘ with our boss before leaving for Bury after Michael left for Leicester City. “The combination between me and the gaffer is very strong,” he said. “That’s probably the main reason I signed, so if the gaffer is here there’s a great chance of that {a new deal] happening. I can’t praise him enough. I’ve worked with him for a number of years now and he’s a great up-and-coming young manager.”
Bury wasn’t a happy time for the player, who never seemed at ease with Lee Clark’s system, which saw the Shakers relegated, and him leave for Sunderland, where he broke his EFL Trophy hoodoo last season by playing for 63 minutes as the Black Cats beat Tranmere. Maguire scored 28 goals in 124 appearances during his time on Wearside and chipped in with five goals and five assists in their League One play-off campaign last season, despite starting just 11 of his 33 League One outings. He struggled to get into the side after Lee Johnson arrived, with the former Bristol City man coming under fire for not including the popular player more during the final weeks of the season. By the end of the season, he had forced his way into the Black Cats side, starting his final game as we beat them 2-1 in the play-off semi-final.
On July 7, 2021, he penned a two-year deal with the Imps. His time here was not a success; he scored a hat trick at former club Sunderland, but only one other goal from open play, and nothing in the league. In August 2022 he was charged with betting offences by the FA and had his contract mutually terminated not long afterwards.
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