According to the Daily Mail, West Ham will demand £150m for Declan Rice this summer, with Manchester United interested.
Should that figure be met, it would see the England international become the third most expensive player in history behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Regardless of whether the £150m asking price is met or not, Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy will surely be delighted by West Ham’s decision.
What’s the story?
Well, after West Ham placed a £150m price tag on Rice, Levy now has every right to increase his demands for Harry Kane.
According to talkSPORT, the 60-year-old is asking for £160m from those interested in signing the Tottenham talisman.
Now, everybody knows Levy drives a hard bargain, so we believe he’ll sense an opportunity after West Ham demanded £150m for Rice.
The 23-year-old is a phenomenal player, but with all due respect, he isn’t anywhere near as good as Kane, whose value should be far beyond just £10m more than what Rice is worth.
Levy will be all too aware of that, and when it comes to sitting down at the negotiating table, he will surely say something along the lines of: “If Rice is worth £150m, Kane is worth at least £200m.”
Tottenham and West Ham can charge what they like
For some people reading this, they will baulk at these figures.
Of course, they are massive sums of money, although Tottenham and West Ham own these players, and they are more than entitled to demand whatever they want.
You have to consider how important Rice and Kane are to their respective clubs, and it’s also worth noting how much it will cost to replace them.
In that respect, Spurs and the Hammers are well within their rights to do this, just as Crystal Palace were when they demanded £80m for Wilfried Zaha in 2020.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
