Tottenham have been given some encouragement of sorts by pundit Danny Mills, who believes they could beat Manchester United to the transfer of West Ham sensation Declan Rice.
The 20-year-old midfielder has had an outstanding campaign for the Hammers this season, showing himself to be one of the most exciting young players in Europe in his position.
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Unsurprisingly, this has led to links with Manchester United, with the Irish Independent claiming the £50million-rated Rice is on the Red Devils’ agenda this summer.
The England international would unquestionably be an upgrade on last summer’s flop signing Fred, as well as on the ageing Nemanja Matic, but Mills believes Spurs could and should be in the running for players of this calibre.
Speaking to Football Insider, Mills explained that the lure of Champions League football is one thing that could tempt Rice to pick Tottenham over Man Utd, while there’s also the prospect of working under a manager like Mauricio Pochettino.
“If Man United come knocking for Rice, then Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City could come as well,” Mills said.
“If you’ve got the choice between Man United and two clubs in the Champions League next season, where are you going to go? Not Old Trafford.
“Are you going to improve and develop as a player under Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer? Nobody knows. Are you going to improve under Mauricio Pochettino? Yes.
“Man United is not as big a pull as it used to be. There are other teams players would rather play for. Once upon a time, Man United came knocking and off you went.
“A player like Rice, I’m sure he would rather join Spurs than Man United.”