Danny Murphy has said on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel that reported Liverpool and Chelsea target Declan Rice is open to leaving West Ham United at the end of the season.
The former Liverpool midfielder has suggested that speaking to West Ham and England international midfielder Rice and his father, he has got the impression that the 23-year-old is hugely ambitious and is keen to play for a bigger club.
The talkSPORT pundit has added that Rice would be brilliant for defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
Liverpool and Chelsea have been linked with the 23-year-old West Ham star.
GiveMeSport have reported that Chelsea are strong favourites to snap up the youngster in the summer of 2023, but Liverpool are looking at the Englishman as a potential alternative to Borussia Dortmund and England international midfielder Jude Bellingham.
The report has claimed that the youngster himself would be tempted by a move to former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool.
Danny Murphy on Liverpool and Chelsea target Declan Rice
Murphy said about Rice, as transcribed by The Liverpool Echo: “I speak to Dec a lot and his dad and he’s so ambitious.
“It’s not, ‘I’m desperate to leave’, but the reality is, I think last year, last summer when people spoke about him leaving, I think (David) Moyes spoke to him, West Ham spoke to him and said, ‘do another year’.
“I think they’ve said to him, ‘we’ll let you go this summer’. I think the reason’s he’s saying that in his press conference because West Ham, depending on if they get the right amount, they’ll want a decent chunk. But It’s time for him to go, he’s got to go.”
The pundit added: “The interesting thing about Declan, I’ve been speaking to him recently and people will disagree. But I think, and I know he’d like this more, he could be a really devastating box-to-box player and get goals. I think he could get double figures in goals, imagine him in a City side with Rodri behind him then him and De Bruyne for example.”
What will West Ham do?
We are confident that West Ham United will not sell Declan Rice in the January transfer window, but you never know what could happen next summer.
Rice has done exceptionally well for the Hammers over the years, but it is hard to see the London club win major trophies or challenge for the UEFA Champions League places on a regular basis.
West Ham, though, are going to be make it tough for Liverpool and Chelsea to sign the England international, especially if he wins the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The Hammers are a big and established club in the Premier League, and they will not let the youngster go on the cheap.
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