West Ham United set massive asking price for 24-year-old Liverpool target

West Ham United have set an asking price for Liverpool target Declan Rice

According to Sky Sports (h/t Liverpool Echo), West Ham United have set a fee of £120m for captain and star midfielder Declan Rice, who is speculated to leave the club in the coming window.

West Ham with their win over Manchester United secured their top-flight status for next season and the relegation fear that were looming over their head are out of the question now.

It allows them to plan for next summer and one of the main topics surrounding the Hammers is the future of the 24-year-old midfielder.

Rice has established himself as one of the top midfielders in the Premier League and with due respect to West Ham, it could be said that he deserves a move to a top team.

All big six teams in the Premier League have shown interest in the player and it certainly would not be an easy bidding war for the England midfielder.

Currently, Arsenal are deemed favourites for the player but a lot could change depending on how the season finishes and the funds available to each team. Rice is a traditional defensive midfielder who shields his defenders and is hard in the tackle.

He is not the most technical player and neither does he contribute a lot in attack. The Reds would be better off investing this money in a midfielder that can double up as a No. 6 too.

For Liverpool, the glimpse of a Champions League qualification suddenly looks pretty close with Newcastle United and Manchester not far away. If we do end up securing a finish in the top four, it will give us a big boost in our pursuit of top targets like Rice.

For now, we have to win our three games in hand and hope that the teams above drop points could pave the way for a top-four finish. Rice has time and again said that he wants to play in a team that is playing in the UEFA Champions League.

More Liverpool News:

• Arthur Melo confirms he will leave Liverpool and wants to play before saying goodbye
• Manchester City to join the race for Liverpool target Ryan Gravenberch
• Liverpool ‘cool interest’ in Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo

If we hope to sign Rice, or a player of the same ilk, regularly playing in Europe’s elite competitions is a prerequisite for sure.