Declan Rice has been identified as the perfect replacement for Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson by former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy.
The West Ham vice-captain has had another outstanding season for the Hammers and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. He has attracted the interest of many potential suitors in the process, including Manchester United and Rice’s former academy side Chelsea.
Any party that manages to lure Rice away from east London will have to do so with a mega-money offer, as West Ham boss David Moyes has previously insisted the 23-year-old is worth over £150million of pounds sterling. “The first thing to say is that he’s not for sale,” Moyes said. “But if you’re interested, well, it’ll be north of that, because £100m was cheap last summer, and £150m right now would be a minimum – but it doesn’t is not for sale.”
While former Liverpool star Murphy has admitted the Reds are unlikely to rack up that kind of money this summer, he is adamant that seeing Rice move to Merseyside would bring stunning results.
Pressed to comment on who his former side should sign, Murphy told Anfield Watch, on behalf of The Punters Page: “Declan Rice for me 100%. I think if you’re looking for a Jordan Henderson replacement then you need of someone who could be here for the next ten years.
“Rice is a super athlete; he can box-to-box like Henderson and he leads others around him. He doesn’t have to start, but he could if Fabinho gets injured, and I thinks he could become a great number eight in a better team. He will be able to advance more and score goals that he has sometimes shown.”
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Murphy went on to admit he was well aware the type of fee Rice commanded might be slightly out of reach, even for a club of Liverpool’s stature.
He added: “I know he will be very expensive, and Liverpool won’t pay that kind of money, but if you ask me for a fan’s mindset and an expert mindset, so if Liverpool were to just sign Declan Rice he would be a phenomenal signing but like I said I think that would be unlikely.
Rice made headlines earlier this week after his explicit outburst at the referee after West Ham were kicked out of the Europa League.
In footage obtained by Fox Sports Mexico, the Hammers midfielder can be seen calling the referee before shouting: “It’s so poor, all night it’s so bad. How can you be so bad? Honestly, you were probably f**ked **** paid. F ** **** corruption.”
It remains to be seen whether Rice will face any sanction from UEFA for his post-match rant.
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