Real Madrid have reportedly made contact with West Ham over the potential £44million transfer of highly-rated young midfielder Declan Rice.
Rice has previously been linked with Manchester United by ESPN and others, but it could now be that the England international will end up moving abroad.
MORE: Manchester United days away from completing £60million transfer
Real Madrid are now being linked with Rice by Don Balon, who state the Spanish giants have been in touch to rival Man Utd for his signature and that he’d likely cost around £44m.
This could end up being a fine move by Real if they can pull it off, with the 20-year-old looking likely to become one of the finest players in Europe in his position for years to come.
It’s not always that common for British players to move abroad, though we have seen more of it in recent years, with Jadon Sancho a particularly fine example of a young player from these shores who gambled on a move to the Bundesliga in order to play more at a young age.
Rice is already a regular and an important member of the West Ham first-team, but one imagines the east Londoners could struggle to hold on to him for much longer.
The youngster also looks like he’d be a fine signing for United, who could do with upgrades on the likes of Nemanja Matic and Fred in midfield.