David Moyes has suggested that Liverpool would have to smash their transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United, through his comments to the London Evening Standard.
90 Minutes claim that Liverpool are keen to sign Rice in the summer, as Jurgen Klopp’s men look to strengthen their midfield.
However, West Ham may well have Champions League football to offer Rice next season, if they continue to push for the top four.
And Moyes has no interest in losing his side’s star player, after such a promising season, unless a huge money bid comes in.
“I don’t agree with the owners that Declan Rice is a £100m footballer,” said Moyes.
“Far, far more than £100m. Far, far more. I look at the players who have joined some clubs from overseas and come in and nowhere near had the impact of Declan Rice would have. Also English, just had Brexit, so I wouldn’t agree with the owners if Declan Rice was only £100m. No, I wouldn’t.
“For me I have watched the prices of some players who have gone to clubs recently and they could not lace Declan Rice’s boots.”
With Liverpool’s future in the Champions League uncertain, it seems unlikely that Klopp will be provided with the sort of funds required to prise Rice away from West Ham.
Indeed, Moyes’s latest comments may mean that Liverpool already have to start looking elsewhere if they are to add to their midfield in the summer.
If Rice does stick around at West Ham that will be a major boost to Moyes’s side, as he is a player who they will surely build their team around for the years to come.
Rice may only be 22, but he is already one of the finest defensive midfielders in the Premier League, and is one of the first names of Moyes’s side’s teamsheet.
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