Man United plot £40m swoop for Rolls-Royce he is a big McTominay upgrade

There have been new developments in the ongoing transfer saga involving Declan Rice and Manchester United’s interest in signing him.

Regarding Declan Rice’s potential move to Manchester United, the Daily Mail reports that the Red Devils have an outside chance of securing the West Ham United captain during the summer transfer window.

According to the report, Erik ten Hag’s team has shown interest in the England international and is considering making a £40 million offer. The proposed deal would also involve Anthony Elanga and Harry Maguire moving to the London Stadium.

However, Manchester City and Arsenal are also reportedly interested in signing the 24-year-old midfielder. Arsenal, in particular, is considered the favorite after having their £90 million bid for Rice rejected by West Ham.

It is rumored that West Ham values the defensive midfielder at a minimum of £100 million, and it remains uncertain whether they would be open to a part-exchange deal involving two players from Manchester United to offset a significant portion of the cost.

In terms of Declan Rice’s performance in the previous campaign, the English defender had an impressive season in the Premier League. He was praised as a “Rolls Royce” by journalist Joshua Mbu and demonstrated significant improvement compared to current Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay.

Rice played 37 league games in the 2022-23 season, achieving an average Sofascore rating of 7.19. He contributed 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game, along with four goals and two assists.

Furthermore, Rice displayed consistent form in the 2021-2022 season, averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.19 across 36 league games and making an average of four tackles and interceptions per game.

These statistics illustrate that Rice, who earns £60k per week, has consistently performed at a high level over an extended period in the Premier League. He won 58% of his one-on-one battles last season.

On the other hand, Scott McTominay had a challenging 2022-23 season. The Scottish international participated in 24 games, averaging a disappointing Sofascore rating of 6.70, with 1.9 tackles and interceptions per game.

McTominay’s performance was better in the 2021-2022 season, where he achieved a Sofascore rating of 6.91 over 30 matches and averaged 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game. However, this still falls short of the recent defensive and overall form displayed by the United target.

These statistics indicate that McTominay has not reached the level of performance that Rice has consistently shown for West Ham over the past two seasons. McTominay has never achieved an average rating greater than 7.08 in his seven seasons.

Therefore, by potentially signing Declan Rice this summer, Ten Hag could secure a significant upgrade over McTominay, as Rice has consistently demonstrated the ability to deliver higher-quality defensive performances.