Man Utd have reportedly made an approach to West Ham United for Declan Rice, but they will have to dig deep into their pockets to strike a deal.
As per BBC Sport, the Red Devils have already wrapped up a £15m move for Daniel James from Swansea City who became their first summer signing.
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It appears as though boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t want to waste time in the transfer market this summer, as according to The Sun, they’ve now made an approach to West Ham for Rice to follow that up with another new arrival.
However, the report adds that while Man Utd are willing to pay around £50m for the England international, the Hammers are demanding a whopping £80m to convince them to listen to an offer seriously.
In turn, it remains to be seen if United are prepared to increase their possible offer, but that is a significant gap to bridge and so they will surely need their Premier League rivals to lower their valuation too.
Rice, 20, emerged as a key figure last season with his impressive displays for West Ham, making 38 appearances across all competitions while scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Coupled with collecting his first caps for England, the youngster looks as though he has a big future ahead of him for club and country.
In turn, with the James signing in mind too, it seems pretty clear what the strategy is from Man Utd in the transfer market this summer, and that’s to sign young, talented, hungry and perhaps homegrown players to build a long-term plan.
Rice ticks all those boxes, but time will tell if an agreement can be reached between the two clubs over a fee as without overcoming that obstacle, a move won’t materialise any time soon.
