Manchester United fans have been urging the club to do all they can to sign Declan Rice after his latest showing for West Ham.
The midfielder has been one of the standout players of the Premier League season so far, having come off the back of a successful summer with England at Euro 2020.
Rice has carried that form into the 2021/22 campaign as the Hammers once again challenge for the top four alongside United, and he was in sparkling form once again as his side got the New Year off to a winning start at Crystal Palace.
The 22-year-old was instrumental in the 3-2 victory at Selhurst Park, setting up Manuel Lanzini for the visitors’ second with a darting run forward from midfield as West Ham took a 3-0 lead before the break.
Palace threatened to stage an unlikely comeback as they struck twice late on, but the visitors held on to move back into fifth in the table – three points ahead of United in the race for fourth.
And Rice won plenty of plaudits from fans and pundits alike for his performance in the victory, with his showing seeing him in the running for the man of the match award.
And it was a display that had United’s fans imploring their club to steal a march on some of their rivals by bringing the England international to Old Trafford.
United are expected to strengthen their squad as the January transfer window opens, with a holding midfielder set to be their priority, as reported by the Manchester Evening News .
Rice remains their ideal signing, having been identified as the number one target earlier on in the season, although West Ham are set to demand more than £100m for his signature which would likely rule out a move this month.
And United will face competition from Chelsea for Rice, with the Blues keen on taking the midfielder back to Stamford Bridge, having released him from their academy as a teenager.
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