Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has backed Man Utd’s reported interest in Declan Rice, but doesn’t think the West Ham star is worth more than around £50m.
The 20-year-old has continued to impress for the Hammers this season and has worked his way into Gareth Southgate’s plans for England too.
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In turn, he’s shown enough to suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him for club and country, and that in turn has led to interest from elsewhere.
As noted by The Express, it has been reported that Man Utd could look to launch a raid on West Ham for the talented youngster, and while Carragher backs Rice to improve and develop to belong at that level, he doesn’t think that the Red Devils should be splashing out a whopping £90m on him.
“Would I pay £90m for a holding midfield player? No I wouldn’t. But do I think Declan Rice is of the quality where eventually he’s going – whether in 18 months or 12 months – to play for a Champions League team, I think he can,’ said Carragher, as per the Metro.
“There’s no doubt he still has to improve, yes he can get better in terms of his angles, receiving the ball off the back four. If I was a top four team, and I was in Manchester United’s position and looking for a midfielder, I’d have Declan Rice as that holding midfield player.
“Obviously the price, I wouldn’t pay £90m for him, of course I wouldn’t. But if you’re talking £50m, maybe more, I think he could do a job for a Champions League team.”
Time will tell whether or not a compromise can be reached on the transfer fee if the two clubs enter transfer negotiations, and how much West Ham would ultimately demand to let him go, assuming that they would even entertain the idea.
However, it’s difficult to disagree with Carragher’s assessment as while Rice would certainly be a key addition to the Man Utd midfield, that is a lot of money to spend on a player who has shown a lot of potential and quality, but hasn’t proven himself at the top level yet.
