A new development has been made regarding the Declan Rice transfer saga and Manchester United’s participation in the pursuit of his services.

How is Declan Rice doing at Manchester United?
According to the Daily Mail, the Red Devils are seen as a distant contender to sign the West Ham United captain during the summer transfer window.

According to the report, Anthony Elanga and Harry Maguire would also be moving to the London Stadium as part of the deal, which would also see Erik ten Hag’s team make an inquiry for the England international with the intention of making a £40 million offer.

The Premier League champions Manchester City are also interested in signing the 24-year-old enforcer, but it is reported that Arsenal, who had a bid of £90 million rejected by the Hammers, are the current favourites to sign him.

It is unknown if West Ham would accept two players in a part-exchange deal, with United offsetting a sizable portion of the fee, for the defensive midfielder, who is reportedly worth at least £100 million.

What was Declan Rice’s season prior performance like?
The English defender, who was once dubbed a “Rolls Royce” by journalist Joshua Mbu, had a fantastic Premier League season, and his performances suggest that he would be a significant improvement over current Red Devils midfielder Scott McTominay.

In 37 league games in 2022–2023, Rice averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.19 and contributed 3.8 tackles, interceptions, and goals or assists per game.

The 24-year-old star’s performance is also not a passing fad; in 36 league games played in 2021–2022, he averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.19 and contributed four tackles and two interceptions on average.

These figures demonstrate that the £60k per week titan, who won 58% of his individual duels in the most recent Premier League season, has been a consistent performer for a sizable amount of time.

McTominay, on the other hand, had a challenging 2022–23 season, averaging a dismal Sofascore rating of 6.70 over 24 games while contributing 1.9 tackles and interceptions per game for the team. McTominay is a Scotland international.

The 26-year-old had a better season in 2021–2022, when the towering midfielder averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.91 across 30 matches and raced past the defence with 3.2 tackles and interceptions per outing, but this is still less impressive than the United target’s recent defensive and more general form.

These numbers indicate that McTominay, who has never had a rating above 7.08 over the course of seven seasons, is not able to compete at the same level as Rice has for West Ham over the past two seasons.

Therefore, by signing the England international this summer, who has the ability to consistently produce higher-quality defensive performances, Ten Hag could be landing a significant upgrade over the Scottish dud.