---
title: "Man Utd urged to target Rice but the midfielder should stay at West Ham"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2020/03/10/man-utd-urged-to-target-rice-but-the-midfielder-should-stay-at-west-ham/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Abdullah Mulla"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2020-03-10T13:00:00Z"
modified: "2020-03-10T13:00:00Z"
---

# Man Utd urged to target Rice but the midfielder should stay at West Ham

Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy [has urged](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8086987/DANNY-MURPHY-Ole-Gunnar-Solskjaer-break-bank-Harry-Kane-Jadon-Sancho.html) Manchester United to break the bank for West Ham United’s Declan Rice this summer, but we feel the midfielder should stay with the Hammers.

The current pundit revealed in his column for the [Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8086987/DANNY-MURPHY-Ole-Gunnar-Solskjaer-break-bank-Harry-Kane-Jadon-Sancho.html) that the Red Devils should have Rice high on their list of targets for the summer transfer window.

However, we feel the best thing for the Englishman would be to stay put at the London Stadium.

The 21-year-old has been an ever-present figure for the team so far this season, playing the full 90 minutes of every Premier League match this term ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/declan-rice/leistungsdaten/spieler/357662)), which shows that he is already a key figure in the team.

Whereas, becoming a key figure for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side could take time. United have a number of big-name players in the squad and Rice may need to fight for a few years before becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet at Old Trafford.

Furthermore, there is plenty of competition for a defensive midfield spot at United.

Nemanja Matic, who [recently signed](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8086963/Nemanja-Matic-agrees-new-deal-stay-Manchester-United.html) a new contract, Fred, who has been playing impressively and Scott McTominay, who has also put in some brilliant displays, all compete for a starting position and if Rice signs, then he will need to prove why he deserves to start ahead of them.

This means he might not be a regular starter at Old Trafford, like he is for the Hammers and he may not want to be watching some matches from the bench.

Lastly, and we feel there’s no bigger motivation to stay at the club, Rice could be in line to be the next club captain after Mark Noble.

Fans have [not been too happy](https://readwestham.com/2020/03/02/west-ham-fans-want-noble-dropped-from-the-team/) with the skipper’s recent displays and Rice seems the natural replacement with his passion and love for the West Ham shirt.

Don’t ever leave Dec!