West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is top of Manchester City’s summer wishlist in what could be a blockbuster move, according to The Sun.
The newspaper claims that the Premier League champions have had their scouts scouring the country for the best young talent, with Rice emerging as a natural successor to Brazilian star Fernandinho.
It is thought that the 20-year-old would cost Pep Guardiola’s side £70million in the next transfer window, having signed a contract extension with the Hammers earlier this season.
Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell are alongside Rice at the head of City’s summer shopping list.
Good move for West Ham?
Absolutely, unequivocally not. Rice is a phenomenal young talent, the jewell in West Ham’s crown and their only consistently good central midfielder this campaign. He looks set to be a fixture in the Hammers’ set up for many years to come, if one of the big boys doesn’t poach him that is. Ultimately he will likely move away from the London Stadium in the future, but this summer is surely far sooner than any West Ham fan expected him to go. The contract extension that he signed doesn’t really mean much when a team like City comes calling, only ensuring that the Hammers will receive a decent price for him. Despite the huge transfer fee, though, this is a deal that Manuel Pellegrini and co. must resist at all costs.
This is Futbol rating: 0/10
Likely to happen?
When someone like Guardiola makes you their number one target and sees you as somebody who is good enough to succeed a player like Fernandinho then it’s going to be pretty hard to say no. Rice seems like he loves West Ham but that likely won’t be enough here. If City’s interest is genuine then Rice will probably be off sooner rather than later.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10