Manchester City could hijack Arsenal’s attempts to sign Declan Rice, as long as they include one of their current stars in the deal.
Less than two weeks ago City won the Champions League for the first time in club history, in doing so becoming just the second English team to win the treble.
Yet despite enjoying an historic campaign, Pep Guardiola’s side could look very different next season.
The Blues are expected to be busy in the transfer market this summer, with a number of first team stars expected to depart.
The futures of Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker are all uncertain, but the most high-profile departure could be club captain Ilkay Gundogan.
The German midfielder’s contract expires at the end of June, and has yet to publicly announce where he will be playing next season.
For months Gundogan has been linked with Spanish giants Barcelona, and on Wednesday fresh reports from Spain claimed the 32-year-old had agreed terms with the club.
However, the final green light on a move will depend of Barcelona’s ability to register new players.
On Wednesday Fabrizio Romano confirmed that City have agreed a £30m deal (£25m + £5m add-ons) to sign Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, but they still maintain an interest in West Ham’s Declan Rice.
Arsenal have already had a £90m offer for the midfielder rejected, but the Gunners’ remain the favourites to sign the England star.
City can offer something Arsenal can’t
But according to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, City stand a chance of hijacking the move.
The journalist has reported that West Ham are keen to explore a deal with City on the condition that Kalvin Phillips moves in the opposite direction.
Phillips only joined City from Leeds in a £42m move last summer, but struggled for minutes and form during his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
The midfielder started just four of City’s 61 games in 2022/23, playing a total of 593 minutes.
A season of adaptation is not uncommon for new additions to Guardiola’s squad, but City are said to be open to selling the 26-year-old.
Cross-town rivals Manchester United are also in the race to sign Rice, who captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory earlier this month.
MCN view: City have an advantage, but does Rice make sense?
From West Ham’s point of view, dealing with City rather than Arsenal would make a lot of sense.
Even if Arsenal do stump up £100m+, West Ham would still be left with the task of finding a new star midfielder to anchor the team.
Should they cut a deal with City that includes Phillips, then they would receive less cash but would immediately get a Premier League-proven player to replace Rice.
The question is, do City need Rice? Rodri is the best number six in the world, and Rice is far too good to sit behind him on the bench.
If City want a number eight to replace Gundogan and possibly Bernardo, then Rice isn’t really that guy either.
Signing Rice would likely necessitate a system tweak from Guardiola, with the England star partnering Rodri in midfield.
