Declan Rice would have been happy to join Manchester City this summer, according to journalist Sam Lee.
Arsenal broke the British transfer record last week when the paid £105m to sign Rice from West Ham, but only after City had pulled out of the race to sign him.
City had an offer of £80m plus £10m add-ons rejected by the London club, and subsequently ended their interest in the England international when West Ham refused to lower their asking price.
Despite rumours to the contrary, City’s interest in Rice was serious and he was one of the club’s transfer priorities.
Rice persuaded by key factor
Speaking on the The Athletic Football Podcast, Manchester City correspondent Sam Lee revealed that Rice would have been happy to sign for City despite his decision to join Arsenal.
“Rice was happy enough to join City, but he was very, very happy to join Arsenal, and that’s what won the day for Arsenal,” Lee said.
“Arsenal’s intentions to sign Rice went back to before the World Cup, and that kind of commitment had a big impact in the end.”
Lee also clarified that City’s attempt to sign Rice was genuine, and not some elaborate scheme – as some have suggested – to hurt Arsenal.
“City were very serious. Guardiola, before he went on holiday, left them with three names: Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Rice,” he said.
“City’s interest in Rice was definitely genuine. There were a few suggestions floating around that they were trying to get him just to stop Arsenal strengthening, which just wasn’t the case. They weren’t trying to drive up the price or anything like that.”
City’s interest in ‘world class’ Rice appears to have been exactly that – interest in a specific player, not a midfielder in general.
As a result, there is no player they will pursue as an alternative to Rice.
City have already signed Mateo Kovacic as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, and will reportedly double down on their efforts to keep Bernardo Silva at the club.
