talkSPORT pundit Didi Hamann wants Liverpool to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice after Real Madrid thrashing
Liverpool need to sign West Ham captain Declan Rice to “transform” their team because he makes other players better, according to Dietmar Hamann.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were humiliated 5-2 at Anfield by Real Madrid on Tuesday night (21 February), sparking renewed calls for an overhaul from the former Reds midfielder.
Hammers skipper Rice continues to be one of the go-to men for all midfielder-needy sides to covet and Hamann thinks he is the man required on Merseyside.
Speaking live on talkSPORT on Thursday (23 February) the former World Cup finalist said of the Reds: “What they do need is a holding midfielder. If you add a holding midfielder in the summer, I look at Declan Rice.
“He would be the player who could really transform the team because you need players who make other players better, and then you can build, maybe get one or two next to him.”
Easier said than done
It is widely seen as a given that Rice will go to whichever side wants him the most in the summer, but David Moyes shown that West Ham won’t make it easy.
The Irons manager was remarkably successful in talking the midfielder’s market down last season by stating it would cost £150million to sign him.
Now, after Chelsea spent a British-record £106.8million fee to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January, the Scot said that “undoubtedly” Rice will surpass that number [Daily Mail, 5 February].
Whether the Hammers can truly hope to keep hold of their star man through another summer, or whether Moyes will even be there to have a say in the matter, remains in doubt while the struggles of this season continue so badly.
Manchester City are back in the hunt with a Kalvin Phillips swap deal mooted [90min, 21 February], while Arsenal and Chelsea have been heavily linked, so it is certainly not going to be a cheap matter if he does go.
Rice undoubtedly does make players around him better, but Irons fans could do with him doing that to a major degree in East London for the next three months before any transfer questions are answered, with West Ham currently languishing in the relegation zone.