The new Gerrard? Rice has a SECRET WEAPON, Arsenal and Man City told

Robin Bairner

• 15 Jun 2023 12:14 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal and Manchester City have been told that transfer target Declan Rice could become the Premier League’s next Steven Gerrard given the right conditions.

The West Ham midfielder has been one of the hottest properties on the transfer market for months, and with his contract up in 2024, it is expected that he will depart David Moyes’ side during the summer.

Arsenal are leading the way for the England international, but a fresh threat from Manchester City has cast doubt on their ability to close out a deal. The Gunners have already had a bid, which was exclusively revealed by FootballTransfers, worth £80 million rebuffed.

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West Ham coach Kevin Nolan has talked up the potential of the 24-year-old, drawing a comparison with Liverpool legend Gerrard.

“I'll never say this lightly, he's the closest thing I've seen to Steven Gerrard on a football pitch. In terms of all his key attributes and I feel there's still loads still to unravel,” Nolan told TalkSport.

“I'm not saying he is Steven Gerrard but the way he can just glide past players - one minute he's there, the next minute he's gone. The way he can play a defensive role and then move into an attacking role, we haven't seen that part of him yet.”

Rice has prolific scoring potential

Pundit Danny Murphy, meanwhile, says that Rice can become a prolific Premier League scorer, despite having netted just 10 times in over 200 games in England’s top flight for Pep Guardiola’s side.

“If Man City lose Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva - they are different players - but if you're playing Rodri and adding Declan Rice and Kevin De Bruyne, Declan will get you double figures for goals,” he claimed.

“He can score but he's in a West Ham side where you have to do more defending than attacking.”

Although West Ham are hoping to attract bids of more than £100m for Rice, FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal believe that he will be sold for less than that figure.