West Ham United are likely to sell Declan Rice at the end of the season.
Although the Hammers took a huge step toward reaching the Europa Conference League final after beating AZ Alkmaar 2-1 in the first leg of the semi-final on Thursday night, Rice, 24, is destined to move to a club competing for the sport’s biggest trophies this summer.
Valuing their captain at a whopping £120m (Sky Sports), the Hammers are clearly determined to extract the maximum from their best player, and heavily linked with almost all of the Premier League’s top sides, this summer’s window looks set to see the 24-year-old centre of a transfer tug-o-war.
Interestingly, according to recent reports, including one from The Sun, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are frontrunners to sign the industrious midfielder.
However, despite being in pole position to land Rice, former Liverpool attacker and CaughtOffside columnist Stan Collymore believes a move to Manchester United would be the Englishman’s best bet.
“He’s obviously in demand and is likely to be at the centre of a summer battle but I actually think going to Manchester United would be the best move for him,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“Rice is the exact type of midfielder they’ve been crying out for, for years. He’s powerful, dynamic and can run box-to-box for days. Although the Red Devils probably wouldn’t want to splash £120m on one midfielder, especially when we all know how much Erik Ten Hag wants a new striker, I can definitely see a situation where they offer some money and a player.
“I think including Scott McTominay in an offer would be quite appealing to West Ham. Manchester United’s biggest obstacle will be convincing the player to relocate out of London but if Rice is up for moving further north, I think he could really thrive under Ten Hag.”
McTominay is believed to have been made surplus to requirements by the Red Devils, and according to Football Insider, the midfielder will be sold if a club meet their £25m valuation.
Having started just 10 Premier League games this season and now well behind Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in the side’s pecking order, a change of scenery could do the Scotsman a world of good as he looks to revive his stagnating career.