Declan Rice is a long term central midfield target for Manchester United, and that seems unlikely to change no matter who the new manager is.
Paul Pogba looks set to depart Old Trafford in the summer, having so far held off on signing a new contract with his current deal set to expire in the summer.
That raises the prospect that the Englishman could take Pogba’s place in the United midfield come the summer.
It wouldn’t come cheap, with Rice likely to cost more than £100 million, with former United boss David Moyes saying that would have been a bargain price to get the midfielder out of east London earlier this month.
But in an interview with BT Sport, Rice said that Pogba is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and that he is so hard to play against.
“He gets criticised and people criticise him and say what they think of him but honestly, he’s one of the top three players I’ve ever played against.
“So strong, so good on the ball. He’ll take the ball under crazy amounts of pressure and get out of it with an unbelievable skill.
“He can play one touch, two touch, long passes. You see the best of him for France but since he’s been in the Premier League, there have been a lot of opinions about him but he is unbelievable.
“My second game for West Ham was at Old Trafford and he ran the show. I went into a 50/50 with him and he was rock solid, so strong. It’s always a good battle against him and he’s a really, really top bloke.”
It has previously been thought that Rice could be the holding midfielder United need but he has transformed into a more box-to-box player this season.
He would be a clear upgrade on Fred and has years ahead of him in the Premier League.
United should have a better chance of trophies in the near future than West Ham, especially once a new manager comes in, but it is whether another Premier League club makes him an offer and are closer to winning major honours.
Also, the price could get astronomical, and United will not be getting anything in for losing Pogba. That means that cheaper alternatives could be sought, but there is no doubting Rice’s quality now.
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