Manchester City’s recruitment team have discussed the possibility of signing West Ham captain Declan Rice, according to reports in the UK.
The England international has been heavily linked with rivals Manchester United, as well as Arsenal and Chelsea, with it being claimed he could cost in excess of £100m this summer.
The majority of fans on Twitter would be against making an offer for Rice, with many believing that the midfielder is overpriced:
No thanks, bang average.
— Ctg2010 (@Ctg20102) May 15, 2023
No no no please no singing Rice give chance for kalvin Philips 😭
— abbasmuhammadnasir (@abbasmuhammadn1) May 15, 2023
Best one is to bring back Lavia, 40m?
— kensadja.eth (@KenSadja) May 15, 2023
Another overrated guy
— Kwesi Sarkcess (@KwesiSarkcess15) May 15, 2023
Rice is not a good option
— Etihad_Dude (@Letho_Cityfan) May 15, 2023
Am i the only one who thinks Mac-Allister is a good replacement for Gundo
— TIN@ignitious (@ignitious_tin) May 16, 2023
Why? We don’t need him man, we got Phillips. We’re fine. It’s a waste of money if we actually sign Rice, let him go to Chelsea and realize how bad it is there lol.
— lucosaurrr (@xlucosaurrr) May 15, 2023
He is not a good fit, get mc allister or barella
— Asad Gandapur (@asad_gandapur21) May 15, 2023
While reinforcing the midfield will be one of City’s priorities when the transfer window reopens, you can’t see Rice being a priority target.
A backup for Rodri is definitely needed but the Premier League champions are not likely to pay the best part of nine figures to bring one in. There are certainly cheaper alternatives if manager Pep Guardiola wants to give Rodri some assistance. One of those would likely be former player Romeo Lavia, who has just been relegated with Southampton.
