Manchester United set their sights on West Ham United’s Declan Rice, but may be put off by the £80m price tag.
According to sources at ESPN, West Ham midfielder Rice is the main target for Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United, but cheaper options may be explored due to the inflated valuation given by The Hammers. The money is there at Old Trafford and with many big earners out of contract in the summer, they could justify the transfer.
Still, RB Leipzig ace Christopher Nkunku is mentioned by ESPN as one possible alternative, while the Daily Mirror have also linked them with Amadou Haidara in recent times.
The main issue is, in the summer of 2021, they spent £130m on the likes of Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane. This sort of spending isn’t sustainable, especially with financial fair play regulations. However, United certainly have the flexibility to offload players, with the likes of Donny van de Beek, Anthony Martial, Phil Jones and many others, either currently out on loan or struggling for game time.
Manchester United fans have become increasingly frustrated with the Scott McTominay and Fred central midfield pairing. The club addressed key areas at the start of the season, bringing in a striker, centre back and a winger, but failed to strengthen arguably their weakest area of the pitch.
With Paul Pogba out of contract in the summer, the depth of the midfield is almost non-existent and unless they can tie the Frenchman down to a new deal, the signing of Declan Rice (or a cheaper alternative) is absolutely vital.
Get real 80 mill price tag >>>>been away for a year or so have we. Just gets more and more LAUGHABLE. ALSO MUST HAVE MISSED WEST HAM SAYING HE WAS FOR SALE. Try starting 130 mill and then still get told NOT FOR SALE Another story tomorrow. ?????? you could say its now gone down to 50 mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!