Ray Parlour speculates ‘behind the scenes’ transfer talk in England camp for West Ham United ace Declan Rice
Ray Parlour believes Declan Rice’s England teammates are trying to “influence” the West Ham ace regarding which club he will play for next.
Arsenal have already had an opening bid for the midfielder rejected, while Manchester City are keeping a close eye on proceedings, according to Sky Sports (15 June).
And Parlous has speculated that the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish will be doing their best to tempt Rice to move to Arsenal and Manchester City respectively as the trio link up on international duty.
“I’d love to be in the England camp now,” Parlour said live on talkSPORT. “You can imagine Jack Grealish telling Rice to come to Man City, then you will have Bukayo Saka telling him to come to Arsenal.
“I bet they’re all talking behind the scenes and seeing who’s going where, and trying to influence him.”
Ongoing saga
The saga involving West Ham skipper Rice has been going on for quite some time, and it looks to continue in that manner as several top clubs seemingly chase his signature.
Such interest is definitely understandable given the player’s displays for club and country over the years, with Rice already among the world’s best midfielders at the age of 24.
And after a busy and ultimately successful season with the Hammers, Rice is currently linking up with his fellow England internationals as the Three Lions take on Malta and North Macedonia in Euro 2024 qualifying.
In the camp, there will definitely be a big focus on picking up victories in those two matches, but there will also be an end-of-season vibe in training, one which will absolutely involve the likes of Grealish and Saka asking Rice where he will be playing his club football in the next Premier League campaign.
It will definitely be intriguing to see if either Saka or Grealish, or indeed neither, will get what they want this summer.