Reporter close to David Sullivan shares big Declan Rice claim, if true it could be a disaster for West Ham

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Manchester City could be set to make an opening offer of £70 million plus Kalvin Phillips for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice this summer.

According to a source very close to David Sullivan – Claret and Hugh, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is set to make a move for Declan Rice, and could use Kalvin Phillips as a makeweight.

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Rice, 24, is being heavily linked with an exit from the Hammers this summer, with Arsenal thought to be leading the race for his signature.

Dec is under contract at the London Stadium until the summer of 2024, but the club have the option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.

And David Moyes will demand around £120 million from any club that wants to sign the 41-capped England international this summer (Sky Sports).

And it seems as though the bidding could be set to start soon…

Reporter close to David Sullivan shares big Declan Rice claim, if true it could be a disaster for West Ham

Claret and Hugh reckon that Manchester City are lining up an opening offer of £70 million plus Kalvin Phillips for the 24-year-old this summer.

That would be a terrible deal for the Hammers, and I really hope that we don’t accept it.

Listen, Phillips is a really talented midfielder. However, I’m not sure we should be going anywhere near him considering his recent injury record.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, the 27-year-old has missed 216 days of action due to shoulder, hamstring and calf injuries (Transfermarkt).

Manchester City paid around £45 million to sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds in the summer of 2022. He’s clearly a very talented footballer.

However, the English midfielder is no where near robust enough physically to come in and replace Rice.

If anything, West Ham should be pushing Man City to take up their option to re-sign Romeo Lavia, so that we can include him in the deal instead.

Declan Rice leaving will be a big blow to West Ham, but if we get the succession plan 100% right, we could still make progress as a club.

Bringing Phillips in as part of Rice’s sale will be a big backwards step in my opinion though.

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