20 hours Ago By James O'Reilly
Manchester United should have signed Declan Rice before Arsenal acquired the midfielder’s services, according to former Premier League manager Neil Warnock . Rice spent eight years with West Ham United to start his career, rising to the rank of captain after rapidly improving in his early days as a player. The England international led West Ham to a Europa Conference League trophy in his final season with the club before securing a move to Arsenal worth over £100 million, with Rice being one of the Premier League’s most expensive players ever .
Now 26 years old, Rice has retained his form at Arsenal and has become a crucial component of Mikel Arteta’s side as they look to secure a Premier League title. Rice is one of the league’s best defensive midfielders , as would be expected for a player with such a huge price tag on his head. There was a race for Rice’s signature before his move to Arsenal was finalised and legendary figure Neil Warnock believes that one club in particular should have done more to sign the midfielder.
Man United should have signed Rice Much has been said about Manchester United’s spending and in particular, the poor manner in which it has often been conducted in recent years. Signings such as Harry Maguire , Casemiro and Antony are often cited as examples of terrible business from the Red Devils. Warnock very much agreed with this theory and highlighted Rice as an example, suggesting the club would have signed a consistent midfielder that represented fair value for money, at least by the standards of the modern game.
Declan Rice's 24/25 Season So Far Competition Appearances Goal Contributions Clean Sheets Premier League 23 6 7 Champions League 7 2 5 League Cup 3 2 0 FA Cup 1 0 0 Speaking to The Seaman Says Podcast, brought to you by Betway , Warnock stated: "I thought Man United should (have signed) Declan Rice before he went to Arsenal. And I thought, spend a good amount of money on a good player, instead of buying three or four rubbish (players). “When you look at Declan, you look at how he plays, it's not a gamble, is it? He might have a bad game here and there, but it's not a gamble.
"Was it Sancho, they paid £70 million (for) or whatever? Some of the money they've thrown away, the recruitment's been poor, hasn’t it?" Warnock entered the world of management in 1980 and now, 45 years later, he remains involved in football, serving as football advisor to Torquay United. The 76-year-old has managed Scarborough, Notts County, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, amongst many other teams, over the years. As such, Warnock is more than qualified to assess the quality of a club’s signing, given the mass amount of experience he has garnered in football.
Sign up to The GIVEMESPORT Report to get exclusive daily updates from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones and Tom Bogert sent straight to your inbox. All stats are from Transfermarkt and are correct as of 21/02/2025. Neil Warnock had a few choice words for Gary Lineker before a Match of the Day interview.
