Credit: Imago

Sam Stone

Wed 28 June 2023 11:40, UK

Declan Rice has sought assurances from Manchester City over Pep Guardiola’s future as the race for the West Ham star heats up, according to former Bleacher Report journalist, Dean Jones.

Arsenal have submitted a £105million bid for the 24-year-old, who is reportedly keen on moving to The Emirates.

Talking to GIVEMESPORT on Tuesday 27 June, Jones suggested that Rice has an “unbelievable” backup plan at The Etihad if his move to Arsenal falls through.

“One problem for Arsenal in the Rice chase is that the player has looked to seek out assurances at Manchester City on whether Pep is going to be staying at the club and the answer is that absolutely, he will be there for the next two years. For Rice, that’s a big deal,” he said.

“Guardiola is a great manager but was also a great midfielder. Rice has always had a vision of becoming a Yaya Toure-type player, too, which is an interesting layer in the Man City side of this. He knows that if Arsenal falls through he has an unbelievable back-up plan to turn to.”

Get it done

The sooner this deal gets done the better.

Arsenal now look in pole position for the 24-year-old, with the Gunners now much closer to West Ham’s £120million valuation.

Mikel Arteta has been working overtime to land the England star and Rice seems to be completely focused on moving to North London.

But, Manchester City cannot be written off. The pull of Pep Guardiola and playing with some of the best players on the planet will be hard to turn down for Rice. If he does make the move to the North West, there’s every chance of Rice going on to be one of Europe’s elite.

Nevertheless, for West Ham, it’s all about landing a competitive fee for their star man. Anything north of £100million will be accepted and it’s essential that money is invested back into David Moyes’ squad.

Two midfielders, another striker and a winger would constitute an excellent window for the Hammers – and could even see them start the season as a well-rounded unit.