Rene Meulensteen wants Manchester United to sign Declan Rice

Former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulensteen has backed the Red Devils to sign West Ham star Declan Rice in the summer. (h/t the Express)

Declan Rice, 20, has enjoyed a fantastic season with the Hammers, making 34 appearances across all competitions and scoring two goals. He was recently capped by England boss Gareth Southgate after a string of impressive performances anchoring West Ham’s midfield.

The midfielder put another strong performance in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday and is among a host of players in the running for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. And seeing Rice’s consistent performers in a Hammers shirt, Rene Meulensteen has given the green signal to his former club to go ahead and make a summer swoop.

“What I like about him, apart from his physical stature, he’s a big boy, do you know what I mean,” Meulensteen told Stadium Astro. (h/t the Express)

“[Saturday] I thought he played excellent.

“His reading of the game, breaking up play and reacting to things is very, very good.

“Obviously on top of that, and especially if you go to a bigger club like Real Madrid, hopefully maybe Manchester United, what you want to see is to produce those splitting passes to break lines and to really create chances.”

There is a likely to be a lot of interest in Rice at the end of the season, with Manchester United already believed to be in the running. We have spent big money on established stars such as Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku in recent years. But the policy of signing established, high-profile stars have not quite worked post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Young players like Declan Rice needed at the club

Hence, there is a clear need for a change in policy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has already shown his desire to promote our academy kids. Solskjaer is set for a busy summer transfer window as he aims to make our club title challengers next season.

Read more: Manchester United to fight rivals Manchester City for 24-year-old La Liga midfielder

As far as Rice is concerned, he’ll be a really good addition for United but we have to break the bank for the young midfielder, who signed a new contract at West Ham last year until 2024.