Darren Bent tips PL giants to sign West Ham mainstay this summer
West Ham United don’t have too many players that top teams would want to sign, particularly at this moment in time with the team struggling dramatically.
Players like Issa Diop, Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Sebastien Haller have seen their stocks decline significantly this season.
There’s no surprises there, because each one of those players has dipped below their top level.
However, star holding midfielder Declan Rice remains the club’s most saleable and in-demand asset.
Former England international Darren Bent certainly feels that the 21-year-old will be sold this summer, and he has one particular destination in mind.
“The obvious one’s probably Manchester United when you look at it,” he told Football Insider.
“The position that he plays, they haven’t really got a natural option, they’ve got [Nemanja] Matic but he’s getting on so you’d think that Declan Rice could go in there and slot in pretty simple, pretty easy, especially with Bruno Fernandes.
“We don’t know what’s happening with [Paul] Pogba but as far as that holding midfield role goes, he would probably be the perfect one to just slot in there.”
Will Rice leave this summer?
You do wonder whether this season will be the youngster’s last in claret and blue, particularly given the dismal campaign the club have had.
You really couldn’t blame Rice for leaving to play for a top team and, while Man United have their own problems, they’re still a hugely enticing proposition for players.
As Bent says, Rice would slot in perfectly alongside Scott McTominay just behind Fernandes in the United midfield.
So, you could see them coming in for Rice, while it would be reasonable to assume that if the east London outfit get a big offer that they’ll relent and let him go.
In other West Ham news, a reported January target of the club has admitted that he wanted to leave in January.