Why would Man City want to sign Declan Rice?

Pep Guardiola is no stranger to heaping praise on opposition players, particularly after watching his side cruise to a victory.

While the tide of compliments can appear disingenuous and wildly misplaced at times - Nathan Redmond has seemingly never recovered from his on-pitch assault of approval - Guardiola proved prescient after coming up against a 19-year-old midfielder in 2018.

In the wake of Manchester City's 4-0 thrashing of West Ham, Guardiola gushed: "Declan Rice is an excellent young player and he will be a top English player for many years to come."

Even though Rice had only represented the Republic of Ireland at international level at the time, Guardiola's analysis - in more ways than one - has proven to be correct. Five years later, City's manager is one of many Rice admirers, with Premier League rivals Arsenal vying for the England international's signature.

Here's why Guardiola has been so keen on Rice for so long.

Declan Rice to Man City details

West Ham chairman David Sullivan publicly confirmed that Rice would be allowed to leave after hoisting aloft the club's first piece of European silverware since 1965.

Arsenal have been the most eager suitors this summer, tabling two bids which have both been rebuffed before City sidled up to the table with their deep pockets. However, the reigning Premier League champions also had a £90m offer rejected.

90min understands that West Ham are unwilling to compromise on their £100m valuation of the 24-year-old, with the east London outfit targeting a further £20m in potential add-ons. A nine-digit sum would match the record fee City paid to lure fellow England international Jack Grealish away from another stubborn set of claret and blues, Aston Villa.

In 2021, West Ham manager David Moyes claimed that Rice was worth "far, far more than £100m". However, Moyes' employers have let his captain enter the final 12 months of his contract at the London Stadium, which may explain City and Arsenal's reluctance to meet West Ham's lofty asking price.

Why would Man City want to sign Declan Rice?

Ilkay Gundogan may be gone but Rice bears a closer resemblance to City's defensive pivot Rodri. Last season, Rice and Rodri ranked as the two Premier League leaders for passes, carries and possession won.

However, Rice is always keen to stress his versatility. "I am not just a holding midfielder any more. I was always labelled as one that just sits in front of the back four," he argued two years ago. "I really now want to see myself as a box-to-box player."

As one of the division's most prolific ball carriers despite playing for a team that shies away from possession, Rice excels at running from one penalty area to the other with the ball at his feet. How often Rice will have the space to drive into which he craves as City continuously face packed defences remains to be seen.

If he were to act as a direct replacement for Gundogan, Rice would have to get used to spending a lot more time in the opposition box. Playing as one of City's 'free eights', Gundogan has been tasked with running beyond the striker (false or otherwise) into the penalty area in recent years.

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Across his final three seasons at City, Gundogan scored ten league goals from within the six-yard box. Rice has taken eight shots from six yards or less in his entire Premier League career (but did score two of them). It's not that Rice doesn't have the talent to replace Gundogan, it's that he's rarely had the chance to show he does.

Mateo Kovacic is further along in his move to Manchester this summer and is a more natural Gundogan replacement - even if the former Chelsea midfielder also lacks a clinical edge. Alternatively, Rice could fulfil the hybrid role in which John Stones excelled in the second half of last season.

Rice was a centre-back at youth level but has previously claimed that he has "too much ability to be playing at the back". Yet, Stones' position - a delicate balancing act of stepping forward from centre-back into midfield while also roaming into the final third - is hardly the job of a clogger.

Yaya Toure became one of Rice's footballing idols by driving forward for Manchester City; the former Ivory Coast international remains the most-recent midfielder to score 20 Premier League goals in a single season.

However, Guardiola infamously used Toure as a centre-back when the pair overlapped at Barcelona, starting him in the back four which defeated Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final.

While it's clear how Rice has modelled his game on Toure's surges for City, he could experience the same positional reshuffle if Guardiola finally gets to work with a player he has admired from a distance.

LISTEN NOW

On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Tottenham's denial of receiving a bid from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane, Arsenal and Manchester City's tug of war for West Ham captain Declan Rice, Man Utd's ongoing pursuit of Mason Mount & more!

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!