BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves believes Manchester United should make West Ham vice-captain Declan Rice a transfer priority this summer.

Hammers boss David Moyes thinks the 21-year-old is worth in excess of £100m and, with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool also keeping tabs on the England international, Hargreaves thinks United should beat their rivals to the punch:

“I think Rice’s upside is off the charts. He has the potential to be anything and a lot better… I think he plays within himself at West Ham. People don’t realise how big he is… he’s 6ft 3in, so he looks like a centre back, but he’s actually really good technically.”

“I’m not a big fan of players who just play in there and pass it around, you have to stop players too. Declan Rice doesn’t have to dictate the game for Man Utd, he can pass to the players who can make the difference and be good defensively.”

It’s hard to see United coming up with the money for Rice, considering their main target will be Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland in the summer.

When Moyes made those remarks about the player’s valuation, he was being very smart. It will not only deter clubs from making lowball offers but it also pushed owners David Sullivan and David Gold into a corner.

If West Ham were to accept a bid lower than £100m for Rice in the summer, it would not show them in a good light, so I think it is safe to say that the midfielder will be staying at the London Stadium for a while yet.