Manchester United are reportedly hoping to hijack Arsenal’s move for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice next summer, as per Football Insider.
The midfielder’s current contract will expire within 18 months and there is an option to extend the deal for one more year. The England international is keen on playing in the Champions League so has rejected several contract proposals from the Hammers to sign an extension.
It looks increasingly likely that the 24-year-old will leave the London Stadium at the end of this season in order to take the next step in his career.
It has earlier been reported that Rice doesn’t want to move away from the English capital and Arsenal are the favourites to lure the midfielder to the Emirates Stadium after opening negotiations with the player’s representatives over a potential summer move.
However, according to the report by Football Insider, Manchester United haven’t been discouraged by Rice’s desire of staying in London and are hopeful that they would be able to persuade the midfielder to move north to Old Trafford.
Battle
West Ham has already warned that they won’t let their star man leave for anything less than the British transfer record, which is £107m, if they are forced to cash in on him in the summer. But, a recent report claimed that they may eventually lower their valuation and accept a fee of around £80m.
It has been suggested that Erik ten Hag wants to reinforce his squad at the end of this season to continue the rebuild. Strengthening the engine room is on his agenda with Frenkie de Jong reportedly being the Dutch boss’ primary target.
Ten Hag likes to deploy a double midfield pivot, in which one of whom is defensive-minded, and the other one is a playmaker. Rice plays the holding role with West Ham. But having already got Casemiro in the squad, Man Utd don’t need another high-profile addition in that position.
So, investing big money in Rice may not be a wise decision for Man Utd and they may be better off signing a new deep-lying playmaker such as de Jong to play alongside Casemiro.
On the other hand, Arsenal need more depth in midfield as Mohamed Elneny is coming towards the end of his career and Albert Sambi Lokonga has been sent out on loan having failed to establish himself. Arteta is a big fan of Rice and he’d provide top class competition to Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka if he were to join Arsenal.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Rice transfer saga unfolds over the coming months but he’ll be an excellent signing for Arsenal or Man Utd if either club is able to get a deal agreed.
