Manchester United have identified Declan Rice as their priority transfer target going into the summer transfer window.
According to Manchester Evening News, United have put Rice on the top of their wish list for players to sign, and it looks like his contract situation could put West Ham under pressure to cash in on him.
MEN also report that United had a whole host of names who they were after this summer, but prioritised signing a central defender and a right-winger first. United completed these objectives by bringing in Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, before resigning Cristiano Ronaldo on deadline day in one of the shock deals of the summer.
These acquisitions meant United were unable to move for a standout defensive midfielder as many of their top targets were out of their price range.
Furthermore, uncertainty around the futures of Paul Pogba, who is out of contract next summer and Donny van de Beek who has struggled to truly settle down also contributed to the lack of a defensive midfielder being signed.
As well as West Ham’s Rice, the Red Devils also held an interest in Eduardo Camavinga before his move to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka before he signed a new long term deal with the club according to MEN.
However, MEN’s report also reveals that United were never actually interested in Saul Niguez, who moved to Chelsea on loan this summer, nor Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni.
One thing is definitely certain, United must address the issue of defensive midfield as soon as possible because they are the only team out of last year’s top six who lack a standout defensive midfielder.
And it is already costing them points this season, having not kept a single clean sheet in the Premier League despite David de Gea’s resurgence this season.