Paul Merson has urged Manchester United to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise this season, and the Sky pundit believes that he could be one of three key signings, alongside Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi, needed to kickstart a revolution at Old Trafford.
Writing in a column for the Daily Star, Merson said: “I’ve watched them [Man United] closely for weeks. West Ham ripped them to shreds. But if they invest in younger talent like Rice, Sancho and Hudson-Odoi they would be getting players who could make an impact straight away but also get better.
“Imagine what those three would be like in four or five years? Rice could be running the England midfield by then, Hudson-Odoi and Sancho could be two of the best wingers in Europe.
“Those are three of England’s brightest talents. Give it time and suddenly we could be talking about United dominating Europe again. They are that good.”
OPINION
West Ham fans won’t like the sound of this, not one bit. They all know how special Rice is, they get to watch him every week, and they will know in their heart of hearts that he is destined for bigger stages than the London Stadium. That being said, they will also be hoping that they can get more than just the one season out of him before he heads off for another club. No doubt there will be a queue of potential suitors eyeing him up from here on in, and he would improve United’s side, as he would he improve anybody’s, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t dig their heels in and get as much out of him as possible. If he can continue on this trajectory, and there’s nothing to suggest that he won’t, then Rice’s price tag could double over the course of the next year or so. If they can keep him in London for even just one season more, they could make a killing when they do eventually let him go.