The usual cast of Premier League heavyweights are circling around Declan Rice ahead of the opening of this summer’s transfer window.
And the race is likely to ramp up now that the player has finished the season with West Ham, having helped the club secure their first trophy in 43 years with victory in the Europa Conference League final.
West Ham chairman David Sullivan has even confirmed the 24 year-old has his heart set on leaving the club and they will not stand in the way of his wish.
But Rice won’t come cheaply, with the Hammers demanding more than £100 million to part with their star player.
Let’s take a look at some of the runners and riders who will likely be hot on the heels of one of the Premier League’s biggest stars.
Arsenal
Arsenal are considered to be the long-term pole sitters in the race for Rice’s signature.
According to reports, Rice wants to remain in London and is keen to commit the peak years of his career to Arsenal.
The Gunners are preparing a £90 million bid to sign the England international, which is £10 million short of West Ham’s valuation.
Arsenal will need to invest in a midfielder this summer anyway, with Granit Xhaka set to join Bayer Leverkusen, while the futures of Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga remain unclear.
Manchester United
United also have a long-standing interest in acquiring Rice’s services and look set to submit a rival bid to Arsenal’s offer.
Earlier in May, United were said to be confident of convincing Rice to snub Arsenal’s advances to instead head to Old Trafford.
According to The Sun, Erik ten Hag has made Rice his number one target for the summer transfer window.
ten Hag is said to have been particularly impressed by Rice’s performance when the two clubs clashed at the London Stadium in May
Chelsea
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are one of the teams who have thrown their name into the hat to land Rice.
Rice was in the club’s fabled academy before being released as a 14 year-old in 2014.
With doubts over the future of existing midfielders N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher, the Blues will likely be keen to bolster their options in the middle of the park ahead of the start of the new season.
New boss Mauricio Pochettino would surely be excited at the prospect of pairing Rice with January signing Enzo Fernandez in what would be the most expensive midfield duo in Premier League history.
Liverpool
Liverpool are planning a big summer rebuild in the transfer market having failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
If Rice is to be running out at Anfield next summer, Liverpool will almost certainly have to smash their club record transfer fee which is currently the £75m they forked out on Virgil Van Dijk in 2018.
But with Jurgen Klopp’s men also eyeing moves for midfielders Mason Mount and Alexis Mac Allister, it remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool would also move for Rice – or if they could even afford him.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are ready to rival the Premier League interest and have already made a play to bring him to Bavaria, according to reports.
Sky Germany claim manager Thomas Tuchel has personally spoken to Rice over the phone in an attempt to convince him to move to the Bundesliga.
Rice’s preference is to remain in the Premier League but he said to be ‘open’ to a move to Germany.
The conversation between Rice and Tuchel was said to be a ‘good talk’, and although Bayern will look to escalate their efforts in the coming days, they are conscious they may be unable or o compete with the financial might of the Premier League.
MORE : Declan Rice speaks out on his future at West Ham after Europa Conference League win
MORE : Ally McCoist explains why Declan Rice should join Arsenal instead of Manchester United
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