After big Manchester City Declan Rice twist, West Ham United must demand that Pep Guardiola relinquishes Romeo Lavia power.
According to the Athletic, Manchester City have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham in the summer transfer window.
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However, a big twist has emerged this morning with City throwing their hat into the ring.
Pep Guardiola coming in for Rice would represent David Moyes with a really big opportunity to bring in a truly unbelievable young talent…
After Manchester City Declan Rice twist, West Ham must demand that Guardiola relinquishes Lavia power
The Hammers should allow Rice to join Man City on one provision this summer – that they give up their strong Romeo Lavia hand.
The talented teenager joined Southampton from the Etihad in the summer of 2022 for a fee that could eventually reach £14 million (BBC).
Lavia was absolutely brilliant for the south coast club this season just gone, but his exceptional performances were not enough to keep his team in the top flight.
Manchester City have the first refusal on the Saints midfielder (BBC). So West Ham should demand that the Premier League champions activate that clause and re-sign the teenager before sending him to the London Stadium or simply hand over that first refusal clause to the Hammers.
The Athletic have described Lavia as an ‘elite’ midfielder, and they’re not wrong. What a sensational player the 19-year-old is.
He has pace, power, athleticism, energy, stamina and dynamism in abundance. The midfielder is also incredibly gifted from a technical perspective.
I genuinely believe that if West Ham get Romeo Lavia as well as a top-class number ‘8’, we would be in a much better place than we are now.
The Hammers have real potential to use Dec’s exit this summer as a positive rather than a negative.
Much will depend on whether Manchester City come in with a formal offer for Declan Rice. However, if they do, it’s clear what Moyes needs to do.
Lavia is my number one pick to replace Dec. And it seems as though there is a genuine clear path for West Ham to make that happen this summer.
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