Report: West Ham want to sign ‘unstoppable’ £60m midfielder to replace Declan Rice in the summer

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West Ham United want to sign Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as a replacement for Declan Rice in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report from The Sun who claim that if the West Ham skipper demands to leave the London Stadium at the end of this season, David Moyes will attempt to sign the 27-year-old Serbian midfielder.

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I feel like we’ve all pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that Rice will leave the Hammers in the summer.

The 24-year-old has already admitted just how hard he has found this season, what with our struggles in the Premier League.

And Dec has been linked with a move to some of England’s biggest clubs, including the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United (The Express).

If the 39-capped England international does leave West Ham, the most crucial transfer of the summer for Moyes will be bringing in an able replacement for him.

And it seems as though the Scot has a special player in mind…

West Ham want to sign star player as Declan Rice replacement

The Sun reckon that the Hammers are keen to sign Lazio star Milinkovic-Savic, should Rice leave the London Stadium this summer.

He’d be a great signing for the East London outfit. Football Italia recently described the midfielder as an ‘unstoppable’ player. Meanwhile, The Laziali label him as ‘world-class’.

Lazio value the Serbia international at around £60 million (The Sun), whilst West Ham allegedly want £120 million plus for Rice.

So from that perspective, it would be very good business from West Ham.

However, Milinkovic-Savic will be 28 at the end of this month. He certainly wouldn’t be a like-for-like replacement for Rice either.

The Serbian is far more of a forward thinking, attacking midfielder than Dec is. The 27-year-old has bagged six goals and eight assists in 30 games for Lazio this season, whilst last term he racked up 11 goals and 12 assists in 47 outings (Transfermarkt).

Meanwhile, Declan Rice has 11 goals and 12 assists to his name in 223 games for West Ham (Transfermarkt)!

In my opinion, Rice is one of the very best defensive midfielders in world football. There aren’t many better at intercepting the opposition’s play through the middle of the park and his energy, power and stamina are second to none.

Milinkovic-Savic just isn’t the man to replace Dec in my opinion. As good a player as he undoubtedly is, I believe there are better options out there for us like Ibrahim Sangare and Youssouf Fofana.

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