Manchester United are unlikely to make an attempt to sign West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice during the next transfer window.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to be a keen admirer of the England international and earlier this year, he had sent his personal scout to monitor the midfielder’s performance against Sheffield United.
A recent report from The Sun linked the Red Devils with a possible summer move for Rice but the story has been quickly dismissed by Manchester Evening News, who insist that United have no plans to sign him.
The same publication cites that Solskjaer is comfortable with the options at hand and the emergence of Fred in the defensive midfield role has cooled the club’s long-term interest in Rice, who is valued at £70m.
Fred struggled for playing time during his debut season last term and he was restricted to only 13 starts. He similarly failed to command a regular role at the beginning of the current campaign but injuries to Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic enabled him to return to the starting XI.
He has since been ever-present in the Premier League under Solskjaer and it is no surprise that he has been a key player in the club’s upturn in form this year. Apart from Fred, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay have also featured in the holding midfield role with relative success.
McTominay was consistent with his displays before the knee injury setback. Matic, on the other hand, recently earned himself a contract extension until June 2021 after putting up a string of impressive performances.
As such, there is no urgent need for another holding midfielder in the squad and hopefully, the board place the emphasis on strengthening the attack this summer. In case of back-up, the club could utilise the likes of James Garner and Dylan Levitt, who have impressed with the development squad.
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