Man Utd join Chelsea in battle to sign £70m-rated international star

Manchester United have joined Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice and the two giants will battle-it-out over the West Ham star this summer, according to reports via the Express.

Rice used to be on the books at Chelsea during his youth days before joining West Ham in 2014 and he’s developed into one of the most exciting young talents in British football during his time with the Hammers.

The 21-year-old has already made over 100 appearances for West Ham since breaking into the first team set-up in 2017 and, despite his tender years, he’s been handed the captains armband on several occasions.

Rice has also made his mark at international level as he’s earned 7 caps for the senior England team having previous represented his country at various youth levels so he certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

The youngster’s potential has alerted clubs in the upper echelons of the Premier League as Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Rice this summer as Frank Lampard looks to build a squad capable of competing for major honours again.

The Express suggests that Lampard wants to use Rice – who can play in midfield or defence – as a centre-back due to continued doubts over Chelsea trio Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen.

However, the Blues will face stiff competition as the Express are citing a report from Football Insider that claims Manchester United have reignited their interest in Rice and will now battle-it-out with Chelsea over his signature this summer.

The report says United have stepped-up their pursuit of Rice after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team conducted an extensive analysis of the player during the recent break and concluded he would be an excellent addition to the squad.

Man Utd already have plenty of options in midfield as Scott McTominay, Fred and Nemanja Matic have all impressed this season while Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes are forming a mouth-watering partnership.

Therefore, Solskjaer may also be eyeing Rice as the man to strengthen his options at centre-back with United tipped to be in the market for a long-term partner for Harry Maguire as Victor Lindelof has struggled at times this season.

Any potential deal for Rice won’t come cheap as the Daily Mail suggest that West Ham want at least £70m for his signature this summer so it looks like Chelsea and United will have to dig deep if they want to land the versatile youngster.