Nicky Butt warns Manchester United off signing Declan Rice
According to The Mirror, Manchester United Legend Nicky Butt has warned the club about making a move for West Ham United star Declan Rice.
The English international is one of the country’s top young talents and is coming into his own as a Premier League star. He played a major role in West Ham United’s sixth-place finish last season.
United have been long-term admirers of the 22-year-old. Capable of playing in both the defence and midfield, his versatility would be a valuable addition to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad.
Butt believes United are well stocked in the middle of the park and have no need to go big for Rice. He also went on to claim that the English international is not an upgrade over Scott McTominay.
“I keep hearing things about Declan Rice, but is he a better player than Scott McTominay? I’m not sure; I think with McTominay, Paul Pogba and obviously Bruno Fernandes, we’re in a good place in the middle of the park.”
Butt’s statements could be influenced by the fact that he mentored McTominay at the academy level. The Scot is a talented player in his own right but is fairly limited as a footballer. Whether we can truly make the leap from challengers to champions with him in the side is debatable.
More so with Nemanja Matic getting older and Paul Pogba’s future unclear, it would be madness if we chose not to bring in another midfielder this summer.
While Butt believes United are set in midfield, he has called for the club to bring in Raphael Varane in defence. The backline has been a spot of bother for Solskjaer and it is keen that we address it this summer.
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There is no reason for us to not make a move for Rice in case he is available. The Hammers ace is a better player than both McTominay and Fred and we will do well not to let sentiment cloud our judgement.