Pep Guardiola and Declan Rice meet up news emerges as West Ham United officially reject first bid
West Ham United captain Declan Rice met up with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola towards the end of last season, according to The Guardian.
The Premier League champions submitted their first official bid for the England international on Monday (26 June), with David Ornstein reporting an £80million plus £10million in bonuses offer had been tabled.
The Telegraph shared on Tuesday morning (27 June) that West Ham have formally rejected this first bid.
The Guardian wrote: “Rice met Guardiola towards the end of last season and sources were last night suggesting that City, who are also trying to sign the RB Leipzig defender, Josko Gvardiol, would find a way of getting the deal done.”
Change of role?
How Rice would fit into Guardiola’s plans is an interesting point to ponder.
With the treble winners already possessing one of the best defensive midfielders in Rodri and having a perfectly able understudy in ex-Leeds ace Kalvin Philipps, it suggests that Rice could be used in more of a box-to-box capacity.
This was certainly the role that Ilkay Gundogan filled at The Etihad Stadium before his exit to Barcelona this week, and it would be interesting to see whether Rice would be given more freedom to express his attacking game in the final third.
Alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, the England international could become a more dominant attacking force, and goals such as his superb solo effort for West Ham United in the Europa Conference League against Gent highlight that the talent is there.
Guardiola has had a specific plan for every Manchester City signing since arriving as manager, but the Rice role remains somewhat of a mystery.
In other West Ham news, a current Elland Road man has also emerged as a target at the London Stadium this summer.