1 week Ago By Sean Fisher
Manchester United were heavily linked with a move for Declan Rice before he made a mega-money move to Arsenal.Back in 2021, Manchester United were on the lookout for a new star midfielder under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.Solskjaer claimed United āshould haveā signed Declan Rice when he was available at West Ham, but the Red Devils are now paying the price for their transfer mistake.
Instead of joining United, Declan Rice made a Ā£105million move to Arsenal and he has been a fantastic signing for the Gunners.His best performance yet came on Tuesday evening as Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the Champions League. Rice described it as the ābest day of his careerā after he scored two stunning free-kicks against the European champions.
Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty ImagesWhy Man United failed to sign Declan RiceUnited ended up spending Ā£70m on Casemiro in 2022 after missing out on Rice and spending an entire summer chasing Frenkie de Jong.Looking back, Unitedās recruiters will be kicking themselves that they didnāt go all-in for Rice, and their reason for backing away from a deal now looks terrible.United decided Riceās asking price was too high when West Ham were demanding just Ā£80-Ā£90m for his signature in 2021.
Riceās price ended up rising even more to Ā£105m, but even now it looks like an incredibly worthwhile deal for Arsenal.Solskjaer even wanted to sell Paul Pogba to fund a deal for Rice, but the United bossā request was rejected as the French midfielder was viewed as a valuable asset ā he ended up leaving for nothing a few years later.Paul Scholes cannot believe United didnāt sign Rice, and it feels like a huge missed opportunity for the Red Devils.
Man United now need to sign another star midfielderBecause of Unitedās poor planning in recruitment, a new star midfielder will be needed once again when the summer rolls around.With Christian Eriksen set to leave and Casemiro entering the final year of his contract, Ruben Amorim risks being left with very little depth in the middle of the park.READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand told Manchester United to sign now-Arsenal star āat all costsā, his advice fell flatJack Moorhouse could be promoted from the academy, but Ineos will likely have to splash the cash on a midfield signing while Unitedās former target, Rice, is enjoying being a Champions League hero.
Sunderlandās Chris Rigg is on Unitedās transfer radar as a potential midfield arrival, but Ineos will also have to spread a fairly tight budget to make sure Amorim is reinforced with a top-class striker too..
