West Ham's Declan Rice has been told that he should ignore transfer interest from Manchester United and join Arsenal this summer.
The 24-year-old has become one of the most sought-after midfielders in world football following his performances for both club and country in recent years and now looks set to join a Champions League club this summer. However, one clear option may have emerged in the form of Arsenal in the wake of their title challenge under Mikel Arteta this season.
West Ham are expected to demand a fee in excess of £90million for their star player to leave this summer, with Arsenal reportedly willing to offer wages of £300,000 per week to secure a transfer. He has, however, also held talks with Bayern Munich, while United weigh up a potential swap deal amid their growing transfer wish list.
Despite a wealth of choice, former Scotland international and pundit Ally McCoist has told Rice that he should choose Arsenal over United, with the chance of catching up to Man City more of a possibility with the North London club.
McCoist told talkSPORT : "It’s a funny one. If I’m Declan Rice and I’m weighing up my options, I am thinking I’d probably rather go to Arsenal than Manchester United.
"I look at Manchester United over the weekend and over the season – and I know they’ve won the League Cup – but they look as though they’re four or five players behind Manchester City.
"I still think Arsenal are well behind Manchester City, but I think they’ve got the potential to get nearer to them quicker."
Rice faces the biggest match of his West Ham career on Wednesday, with the chance to capture his first piece of silverware. He will lead out the Hammers in Prague for the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, with the chance to secure his legacy as one of the club's greatest ever players.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Fortuna Stadium where the match will be held, Rice outlined the opportunity on offer as he has the chance to follow Bobby Moore as the second West Ham player to captain the club to a major European trophy. He said: “I think it would be my biggest achievement I’ve had in football so far - 100 per cent – and that would be the case for a lot of us.
“To win a trophy like this, a European trophy, with West Ham, I think it puts every player at a higher status within the club and, in terms of with the fans, how you’ll be remembered.
“I think it would just mean everything, to be honest. Just to lift that trophy, especially to be with the lads as well – our group of boys are such good people.
“To see them laughing and smiling and singing after the semi-final game was incredible - it’s definitely got the fire in our belly to have those kinds of nights again, and we’ve got the chance to do that.
“There are loads of things that add to it, but for me it’s just about wanting to see the lads smiling again and wanting to lift the trophy, wanting to see our families after with the trophy, just everything that we’ve got 90 minutes to do. It’s in our hands, so we’re going to push to do that.”
