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West Ham hero Declan Rice should be wanted by the entire top six after his heroics against Arsenal at the weekend.
A brilliant defensive midfielder, Rice scored the only goal of the game two days before his 20th birthday, and there should be plenty of admiring glances being sent his way, from Anfield all the way to Old Trafford.
What’s the word?
Rice outlined his credentials to play at the highest level against the Gunners.
As well as his goal, the midfielder defended assiduously, repeatedly snuffing out danger and limiting the Gunners’ attacks.
On the ball, too, he repeatedly found his team-mates, recycled possession well, and was surprisingly effective in the air, winning two aerial battles while also sending a first-half header only narrowly wide.
Rice also maintained a pass completion rate of over 85%, per WhoScored, and intercepted the ball a total of three times.
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In a game that called for cool heads, Rice, at the age of 19, was perhaps the calmest player on the pitch, and should be in demand this summer.
An attainable target
Rice signed a new deal in December, which runs until 2024, and gives the Irons plenty of leverage should any club make an enquiry in the coming months.
But that has not stopped the vultures from circling already.
The Sun claim that Manchester City have identified the midfielder as the perfect replacement to Fernandinho, and it is easy to see why, given Rice’s coolness on the ball and his knack of being in the right place at the right time defensively.
The report claims he would cost around £50million.
But the fact remains that every single top six club would be improved by the 6 foot midfielder.
Liverpool have Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, but Rice would represent a sensible investment, particularly given the latter’s repeated injury problems.
Tottenham, meanwhile, need an upgrade on Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama as well as a replacement for Mousa Dembele, and Rice appears to fit that bill perfectly, while his homegrown status adds another reason for Daniel Levy to put his hand in his pocket.
Chelsea, too, appear to be struggling to bring the best out of Jorginho, and could do worse than turning to the Hammer, while Arsenal need to replace the error-prone Granit Xhaka. Finally, Manchester United could certainly afford to pay the asking price, and sign a major upgrade to Marouane Fellaini.
West Ham had better beware heading into the summer window, as they once again risk losing one of their best players to a top team.
