Declan Rice not a priority target for Bayern Munich as Man Utd links resurface
Bayern Munich hold an interest in signing West Ham captain Declan Rice but they are not actively regarding him as a top target, 90min understands.
The Bavarian giants have been linked with a move for the 24-year-old in recent days, joining the ever-growing list of clubs interested in prising him away from London Stadium.
Rice has attracted the attention of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle thanks to his consistently outstanding performances for West Ham, and Manchester United remain interested as they consider bolstering Erik ten Hag's midfield options.
West Ham know they face an uphill battle to keep Rice, who has two years remaining on his contract, but remain steadfast in their valuation. The Hammers believe Rice is worth at least £100m in today's market and sources have reaffirmed to 90min that the club have no intention of compromising on that figure – either it is met or a move will not happen.
A fee of that size would comfortably smash Bayern's transfer record - Lucas Hernandez is their record purchase at just shy of £70m - and although the club, and head coach Thomas Tuchel, appreciate Rice's ability and believe that he could make a significant impact in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, 90min understands that a deal is not regarded as a priority at this stage.
Bayern are instead looking to replace the guaranteed goals supply of Robert Lewandowski, who left last summer to join Barcelona after eight hugely successful seasons in Munich, despite the sudden uncertainty over the future of midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
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Tottenham striker Harry Kane remains Bayern's number one target and, like with Rice, a deal is affordable should the club wish to follow through their interest with a bid.
Doing so may compromise their ability to facilitate other transfers, however, unless they are able to generate money through the sale of Sadio Mane - he will be allowed to leave the Allianz Arena if the price is right - and Lucas Hernandez, who has agreed personal terms with PSG. There's no guarantee that Kane or Rice would make the move to Germany.
What Rice has done is publicly state his ambition to play in the Champions League and compete for trophies – the latter is something he could now do with West Ham as they prepare to contest the Europa Conference League final with Fiorentina – which has led to months and months of speculation about where he may end up.
90min understands that Arsenal are pushing hard for Rice and are confident that a deal can be agreed with West Ham. However, it's unclear whether or not they would be willing to match the £100m asking price, which may open the door for London rivals Chelsea – incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan and considers Rice to be an upgrade on a number of the club's current options.
Manchester City are also lingering with intent as they are yet to tie down Ilkay Gundogan to a new contract, while uncertainty remains over the future of Barcelona and PSG target Bernardo Silva.
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss all the latest transfer news. On the agenda: Tottenham's pursuit of Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, Bayern Munich's interest in Declan Rice, Joshua Kimmich, Neymar & more!
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!