Manchester United may reportedly be priced out of the transfer of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice this summer.
According to the Daily Star, the Red Devils are looking at cheap alternatives to Rice, such as Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans, who could be available for as little as £40million.
If Rice is too expensive for Man Utd, that could be hugely encouraging news from a Chelsea point of view, with Rice also linked as a top target for the Blues by The Athletic and others.
Rice is one of the finest young talents in world football at the moment, and he’d undoubtedly have an important role to play at either Chelsea or United.
United fans may be disappointed that they’re exploring alternatives to Rice, even if someone like Tielemans is also a top talent, and could end up being better value for money.
In truth, it may be that MUFC pursuing Rice is a bit of a lost cause anyway, as he’s signalled he may prefer a return to his former club Chelsea anyway.
See below as he told Gary Neville about his love for the west London giants and how he grew up idolising John Terry…
It’s unclear if Chelsea really need Rice right now, as they already have quality options like N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in their squad.
Still, Rice has his best years ahead of him, whereas Kante and Jorginho might soon need replacing, even if they are hugely important players in Thomas Tuchel’s side right now.