Declan Rice: Could Manchester United profit from Chelsea’s situation?

With Chelsea’s future up in the air and Declan Rice rejecting another West Ham United contract, could this mean he is primed to join Manchester United or another club during the summer?

A couple of months back the Red Devils spoke of their confidence in landing big-name players with or without the pulling power of Champions League football. The state of the Premier League table standings has them sitting outside of a UCL spot in sixth place behind Arsenal (4th place) and Tottenham (5th place).

With only three games and nine points left to play for, seeing Manchester United finish in a Champions League spot appears near impossible at this moment. It will require others around them to drop points and for United to win all their fixtures; they haven’t won an EPL outing in their last three, picking up only one point from nine available.

So that provides enough evidence, the Old Trafford club has to either reach deep into their pockets for top-tier signings or have one of the best transfer negotiators in the game if they are to convince players that Manchester is the place to be.

At the time of reporting on the hierarchy’s confidence in signing top-tier names in the game, they specifically named Harry Kane and Declan Rice as being their main summer targets, stating that convincing players to come to United was never an issue and cited Paul Pogba’s arrival with no UCL ball in 2016 as the perfect example of their status.

What are the chances of Rice joining Manchester United?

With a new manager coming in before the start of the season, new hope is being restored at the Theater of Dreams. Another sign of a fresh start and new beginnings, Paul Pogba is set to leave the club after his contract expires, which is the end of the season.

It’s just been a bad buy, to say the least. Not so much performance-based only but the off-pitch antics that’s just caused many stirs in the dressing room, giving the media a field day since the time he’s been at the club.

With him out, new midfielders will be required to take over and push United forward. Declan Rice is one such player who can get the ball rolling. He is Premier League proven and the captain of his club West Ham United at the tender age of 23 years old.

The Englishman has had his heart set on a move from East London to West London and joining Chelsea for as long as he’s been rumored with a West Ham exit. Sadly, a lot is going on for the club without ownership. Until Chelsea finds new owners, will they then only have a direction and an idea of what incomings are possible.

Added to the Blues snag, Rice has refused a contract renewal and a chance to become the best-paid Hammer in the club’s history. However, standing against Man United’s chances of jumping in and acquiring Rice’s services is West Ham’s asking price of £150m.

It will all depend on Decline Rice

Many have seen it happen before, far too often: the player, if still unhappy at the London Stadium, will force his hand and probably hand in a transfer request. United will offer exactly what he wants, there is no doubting that, and one could see him move on in the summer.

Erik Ten Hag, who will be the Manchester club’s new boss, has also been praised for his development of young players. Take Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech, and Donny Van der Beek as living proof of his work.

If the Red Devils can get that £150m asking price dropped, which will be hard considering Declan Rice came in third on the WFA Men’s Footballer of the Year list behind Mohamed Salah (winner) and Kevin de Bruyne (runner-up), he could be a major hit at Old Trafford.

Going to be a hot summer for Manchester United fans. How busy do you think the club will be in the transfer market?