Manchester United scouts were in attendance to watch Declan Rice during West Ham’s heavy defeat by Manchester City on Saturday, according to the Metro.
The newspaper report that the Red Devils have been keeping tabs on the 19-year-old contract rebel for the entirety of the season but this is the first time they have sent officials to run the rule over a performance in person.
The Metro claim that Chelsea are also interested in the versatile midfielder, and are willing to double the Hammers’ latest contract offer of around £20,000-a-week.
It is said that concern is growing at the London Stadium about Rice’s future after he rejected that latest offer.
OPINION
It is no surprise that Premier League sides are stepping up their interest in Rice, with this contract stand-off between player and club showing no signs of letting up. West Ham obviously think that their latest offer to Rice is a reasonable one, which rewards the player for the considerable progress he has made while leaving space for more room to grow in the near future. Rice and his agent obviously think that the offer is not good enough, with the midfielder having become such a key player for the Hammers over the past two seasons. Many will be inclined to agree with Rice in this situation, with the 19-year-old clearly worth more than £20,000-a-week, especially when you consider that players like Javier Hernandez are on £140,000-a-week at the London Stadium. The longer this situation continues the worse things will become for the Irons, who simply cannot afford to lose such a talent.
