The only way is up for Dec, and that includes his next stop... leave London now and head north to Manchester STAN COLLYMORE
IF Manchester City come for Declan Rice this summer then he has to go there.
Forget Arsenal, forget Chelsea, forget Manchester United. And forget the way things have worked out for Kalvin Phillips at the Etihad, too.
No player in his right mind would turn City down in the next couple of seasons and for as long as Pep Guardiola remains there.
Guarantee
Signing a contract with City is the equivalent of signing a guarantee to win trophies.
And just being around a club with the kind of energy they have right now would be too tantalising a prospect to dismiss.
So, if City do have a serious interest in the West Ham and England midfielder and he is serious about where he thinks he can go in his career, then it’s a no-brainer. Because in the centre of that midfield he’d not just be able to nick the ball, but also get forward and weigh in with goals and I’d go as far as to say he’d be the perfect City player.
Some will point out the struggles Phillips has had since joining City from Leeds, but in the three seasons before his big move he had been playing in the Championship.
Rice’s stock is much higher, and City tick the box of what he’ll be looking for more than any other club.
That’s namely a club which can offer him a regular, commanding place in the team.
A team where he’ll have players in front of him who can score lots of goals and behind him a back four he can protect, but one which he doesn’t have to protect to the point that they are conceding twos, threes and fours every week.
He’ll also want to join a club that can go on and have the money to compete and play and pay other players who will get the best from him. City can offer him that and, if they do decide to make their move, then you have to feel for those we know are seriously keen to sign him at Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
I know a lot of people think Arsenal would be the most sensible move of those three, but I’d beg to differ because my concern is this season is a bit of a mirage.
Yes, they have had a cracking campaign, but, let’s face it, they may well not win the Premier League in a season when all the other contenders are in flux or had their eyes on other prizes.
Liverpool, Chelsea, United, Tottenham, Newcastle and even City will go again and if that’s by even 10 per cent, then Arsenal will be battling for the top four next season rather than the title.
Shoot
Of course, if Rice did join the Gunners he’d make them significantly stronger, but I’m still not convinced about them as a four or five-year project to win the title because of all the money swishing about at the top.
I’d actually see Chelsea as just as strong an option as Arsenal because, whoever comes in – and we expect it to be Mauricio Pochettino – then something will click.
Now is a bad time to be saying Chelsea will go on to be very good because people will just shoot you down. But, with the owner and the players already in the building to work with, whoever it is can polish them and hone them, and Chelsea are going to have a really good team.
Still, I’d choose United ahead of both of the London clubs if I was him and certainly if City isn’t an option, then Erik ten Hag’s team would be a really good fit.
They will be better set up with potential new owners to contend on all fronts, while, at Arsenal and Chelsea, I don’t think he’d be anywhere near winning the title in the next two years.
So it would be City first, United second, then Arsenal and
Chelsea joint-third.
And if that is the route he takes, then he wouldn’t be the first to head north and enjoy massive success.
Rice’s stock is much higher, and City tick the box of what he will be looking for more than any other club
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One tactics will more