Declan Rice has today revealed his ambitions to further his career, which has put a number of big clubs on alert, including Manchester United.
Rice, who is currently away with England at the World Cup in Qatar said that footballers only have “one career”, which was a big statement for Rice because he has basically said that he wants to move to a bigger club, who will give him an opportunity to win trophies and compete for major honours, which he says has been driven by his England team-mates.
Rice was speaking to the media ahead of England Round of 16 clash with Senegal which takes place on Saturday at Al Bayt Stadium.
Declan Rice: “I see my friends who play in the Champions League, winning the big trophies. You only get one career and at the end of your career you want to look at what you've won”. 🏴
Expectation is for Rice to leave West Ham in 2023.@footballdaily 🎥 pic.twitter.com/RIh5Gmzo3i
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 1, 2022
“One hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League,” Rice said. “For the last two or three years I’ve been saying that.
“I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends here who are playing Champions League and for big trophies.
“You only get one career and at the end you want to look back at what you’ve won and the biggest games you’ve played in.”
The West Ham academy graduate has been heavily linked with United in the last few years, and he was seen as the key signing that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to make when he was United manager as he attempted to solve the defensive midfield position that would have enabled United to play more on the front foot.
Even though United have solved their defensive midfield concerns with the signing of Casemiro, signing Rice would be seen as a statement signing because of his potential and age.
If United were to sign Rice, then it would allow the club to have a succession plan for Casemiro in the long-term, and because of Rice’s versatility, he can play as a box-to-box midfielder, with an eye for a goal.
Fabrizio Romano, in the above tweet has indicated that West Ham are resigned to losing the midfielder in 2023, which is a welcome boost for United because in previous window’s the Hammers’ have not changed their stance and held on to Rice.