Manchester City renew interest in Premier League and England star

Manchester City can retain their place at the top of the Premier League table with victory over Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Saturday. 

The reigning champions leapfrogged Arsenal into first place with a 3-1 win over The Gunners on Wednesday, and a win for Pep Guardiola’s side will ensure they finish the day top of the pile regardless of Arsenal’s result against Aston Villa.

Guardiola could rotate his squad for the trip to Nottingham with his side’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie against RB Leipzip coming up on Wednesday.

In the meantime, it appears that City have renewed their interest in one of the Premier League’s most wanted players.

As per 90min, The Citizens remain interested in West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.

The England international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best central midfielders in recent seasons and has been linked with a number of clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.

The 24-year-old’s current contract with West Ham expires in the summer of 2025, but the report suggests that he could leave The London Stadium this summer.

Rice is still wanted by Manchester City

Rice is believed to be intent on leaving West Ham at some point in order to pursue his dreams of playing in the Champions League and winning trophies.

City’s need for a midfielder stems from the fact that Ilkay Gundogan is set to leave the club when his contract expires this summer, while Bernardo Silva has requested to leave at least twice in the last two years and could do so once again at the end of the season.

Kalvin Phillips, who only joined City last summer, also faces an uncertain future having played just 21 minutes of top flight football so far this season.

Rice became club captain at West Ham at the start of the current campaign following Mark Noble’s retirement, and the midfielder is also a regular for England having played crucial roles at both Euro 2020 and the World Cup in Qatar last year.

It is claimed that The Hammers would demand a record fee for a British player if they were to allow Rice to depart, meaning they would have to pay more than the £100 million that they paid to land Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021.