Journalist Dean Jones has revealed that Manchester City have had their eyes on Declan Rice for the past few weeks.
Earlier this week, it was reported that after seeing Arsenal get their second bid for the midfielder turned down by West Ham United, the Citizens are exploring the possibility of making their own move for the player.
With that taken into account, one journalist has shared some details on how long the Englishman has been on the Manchester club’s radar.
City have been eyeing Rice for weeks
Speaking in a recent edition of the Ranks FC Ultras podcast, Jones said this about what he was told about City’s interest in Rice.
He said: “I’ve mentioned this a few times before that Man City would be in the background and he could go here.
“I was chatting to someone I know who is a good friend of Declan Rice and has known him for a long time.
“A couple of weeks ago we were chatting and he said ‘just watch out for Man City.’ Which I thought was interesting at the time because it was so nailed on that Arsenal would be there. ‘If anything happens just watch for Man City because there could be something there yet.’
“This is very hard to turn down a treble-winning team with a spot in the team opening up.”
If City have had their eyes on the 24-year-old for some weeks, but only decided to get involved in trying to sign him after Arsenal had seen two bids for him rejected, this says to us that there must be some confidence that they can strike a deal with West Ham and be the ones that secure the midfielder’s signature.
In terms of what Jones meant by there being a spot in City’s team opening up that Rice could fill, it was reported earlier this week that Ilkay Gundogan has agreed a deal to join Barcelona as a free agent.
Having played in 51 games for Pep Guardiola’s side last season, it’s safe to say that if the German ends up leaving this summer, he would leave a big hole in the squad, one that City could convince the Hammers star he is the right person to fill.
