Manchester City are in pursuit of West Ham fan favourite Declan Rice with Pep Guardiola personally tracking the teenager, according to The Sun.
The newspaper claim that the Man City boss is set to make a detailed assessment of the centre-back, who currently plays a defensive midfielder, throughout the rest of the season.
The Sun report that Manchester City see Rice as the ideal long-term replacement for Fernandinho and will line up a summer move for him if he continues to shine.
Its is believed that it would take a bid of over £50million to tempt the Hammers into selling the 19-year-old but that a £50million bid is well within Man City’s reach.
OPINION
According to The Sun, Rice’s new £30,000-a-week five-year deal has done nothing to put Man City off being interested in signing the player. This is no surprise as Man City have never shied away from spending big in recent times and they will feel capable of tempting Rice into joining them. However while the Hammers may cave and accept a £50million+ bid if one emerges for the talented teen in summer, as it’d be a lot of money to reject, the player will probably need some convincing. Rice seems very happy at the London Stadium, shown by him committing his future, and he gets regular playing time under Manuel Pellegrini which isn’t a guarantee for him if he joins Man City. Rice has featured 22 times this season and has regular wowed fans on a consistent basis in order to becoming popular figure amongst them. Aside from delivering good performances on a regular basis, Hammers fans also adore Rice as he is a player that has risen through the club’s youth system and that’s something they always appreciate seeing.
