West Ham will reportedly set Declan Rice’s asking price on par or even higher than Jude Bellingham’s, with Liverpool interested in the 24-year-old midfielder.
According to the Telegraph, the Hammers will use the Borussia Dortmund star’s pending move to Real Madrid as a benchmark in negotiations to sell Rice, with the West Ham captain expected to leave east London amid interest from Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Lauded by Joe Cole ‘outstanding’, Rice will head into the summer as one of the most in-demand midfielders in the Premier League market, and Liverpool could soon find themselves out of the race to sign the West Ham star amid this latest update regarding his asking price.
As we know, Liverpool dropped out of contention for Bellingham due to the finances Dortmund were demanding for the midfielder, and with West Ham looking for a similar £100m+ fee for Rice, there’s every chance that the Reds will soon lose interest in trying to sign the England international.
Indeed, West Ham know how valuable an asset Rice is, and whilst Liverpool could stretch their finances to sign the Premier League superstar, the Reds will just be finding themselves in a similar situation with Bellingham earlier this year.
Rice’s asking price should stop Liverpool from making a summer move
Liverpool’s small chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League means that the transfer team are working within budget restrictions heading into the summer, and with news of Rice’s asking price from West Ham now out in the open, the Reds could quickly move on from the England international.
Moreover, with Liverpool in need of just more than one central midfielder, spending all their summer funds on one player in Rice would be a risky decision and one that has already stopped Klopp from bringing Bellingham to Anfield this year.