TalkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed that Declan Rice could score up to 20 goals per season if he joined Manchester City this summer.
The Citizens have been linked with a move for the West Ham United midfielder recently and are expected to launch an official bid for him in the hopes of beating Arsenal to his signature.
This has since led to one pundit sharing his thoughts on the possibility of seeing the midfielder join Pep Guardiola’s side and what he’d be able to do in the team that he hasn’t been able to at West Ham.
Agbonlahor backs Rice to score more goals at City
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said this about what Rice could do in City’s side.
He said: “They’re ready-made as well Manchester City, they’ve just won the treble.
“He’s going to score goals, he’s got 10 goals for West Ham, 204 games, he’s probably going to add 15, 20 goals a season if he plays in that role under Pep. He can play that further role forward.”
Last season saw the 24-year-old find the net five times in 50 appearances, four of which came across his 37 Premier League games.
Taking into account how West Ham had the third-lowest average of possession per 90 minutes (42.1%) in the league last season, compared to City’s table-topping average of 64.7%, it’s safe to say that if Rice were to join Guardiola’s side, he’d comfortably see more of the ball and have more opportunities to be in goalscoring and goal-creating positions.
This backs up why Agbonlahor thinks the midfielder could become more of a goal threat at City should he end up making a move to the Etihad Stadium this summer.
With that in mind, this could be a big factor in terms of potentially needing to convince the player that a move to Manchester could be the best next step for his career and improving his game.
