According to the Telegraph, West Ham would prefer a loan but it is more likely they will be forced to make a permanent offer with United keen to recoup funds for future transfer activity of their own. Luckily for the Hammers, they have plenty of money after completing the £105million sale of Rice to Arsenal.
The deal is made up of £100m plus £5m worth of add-ons. West Ham will receive the base fee over the course of 24 months and could be set to spend a sizeable portion of that first instalment on Maguire as United want at least £40m for the 30-year-old.
Rice, who has played alongside Maguire for England on multiple occasions, would no doubt think of it as money well spent having previously described him as a “world-class centre half”.
“He’s unbelievable. From the first time that I met H here he was top – top with me and top with the lads. He’s had a tough year but I think that proves how mentally strong he actually is,” said Rice.
“From what he went through to still play games after that, he got sent off and obviously that was a tough point but we still knew how good he was. There was a lot of criticism from fans, pundits and in the media saying is he worthy of playing for England and being Man United captain – the performance the other night shows you that and how he was before his injury at Man United shows you that.
“He’s crucial – to us and to Man United. He’s a leader, he’s strong, he’s unbelievable on the ball, he plays great passes into the middle. To play against he’s always really tough because you know what you’re playing against and to play with he’s special.
“He’s always talking to you, always giving you the ball and as a holding midfielder him and [John] Stonesy are people that you want behind you because they encourage you and are always trying to give you the ball. They are world class centre-halves. I can’t speak highly enough of him, he’s just an all-round great top family man.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
