Dean Jones has dropped an interesting claim in relation to the future of Declan Rice, stating that Manchester City are an outside shout to sign the Englishman.
Last month, 90min reported that Manchester United were prepared to smash their transfer record to land the West Ham United midfielder, while it is thought the 23-year-old would prefer a return to his boyhood club Chelsea, who are also interested.
Hammers boss David Moyes has previously declared that it would take at least £150m to lure the England international away from the London Stadium, but with his contract not up until 2024 – with the option of a further 12 months – the club have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations either way.
City’s name has been thrown into the mix over the past week, and Jones thinks that the current Premier League champions could make a move for the player lauded as a “generational talent” by The Athletic journalist Roshane Thomas.
Speaking on Touchline Talk about the links to City, he said: “That one’s obviously more of one that’s in the background and I’d say it’s slightly less likely, but Fernandinho is leaving, Man City have always liked Declan Rice – you never know. These teams, they don’t like to drop a level, and they do look to sign players that make sure that they don’t drop off.
TIF Thoughts on Rice to Man City…
As Jones admitted, this deal does seem unlikely, but it is certainly one to keep an eye on.
Pep Guardiola has reportedly spoken ‘highly’ about the £62k-per-week star within his ‘own circle’, but with the emergence of Rodri at the base of the City midfield, it would seem strange to attempt to displace the Spaniard.
With Fernandinho set to leave and Ilkay Gundogan out of contract next summer, the Etihad officials will be in the market for a centre-midfielder sooner rather than later, but with the seemingly imminent arrival of Erling Haaland in Manchester in a big-money move, it would be reasonable to suggest that any move for a new face in the engine room would be put on hold for now.
AND in other news, Surprise twist: Insider told Man City are ‘open to losing’ big name this summer