Declan Rice has been advised to consider a potential move to Liverpool by one former Manchester United player.
The West Ham captain has been linked with the Reds (Liverpool Echo), along with their Old Trafford rivals, plus London duo Arsenal and Chelsea (football.london).
The Anfield club have been involved in intense speculation surrounding the 24-year-old’s England teammate Jude Bellingham, although a five-time Premier League winner reckons Merseyside would also be an ideal destination for the £60k-per-week midfielder (FBref).
Andy Cole told King Casino Bonus (as relayed by Metro): “If Liverpool are interested in Rice, then I’d be looking at that midfield if I was him because they need a rebuild.
“It looks like Liverpool plan to start all over again in the midfield, and also it’s not like they’re a bad team, they will bounce back next season.”
There are multiple reasons why Liverpool might consider Rice to be a target worth pursuing.
He only turned 24 in January but already looks set to reach 200 Premier League appearances before the season is out (Transfermarkt), while his 41 England caps further highlight the ample experience he has at a high level.
The West Ham midfielder could also be a dependable engine room presence both in and out of possession.
As per FBref, his match average of 1.9 interceptions per game ranks him in the top 4% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, while an 88.1% pass completion rate places him in the 91st percentile for that metric.
However, with some reports quoting a possible fee of £100m (football.london), and Bellingham potentially costing £130m (Daily Mail), Liverpool may need to decide if Rice would merit a nine-figure outlay.
Football Transfers value him at a comparatively sedate €64m (£56.2m), which would certainly seem a more reasonable sum to pay, but the likelihood is that West Ham would laugh a bid of that amount out of town if some reports are citing £100m+.
If we’re going all-out for the Dortmund star, then it’s hard to see us spending big on his England teammate too.
The club can’t afford two 100 million players….so which one do you prefer Bellingham or rice??