Rice accused of 'playing it safe' with transfer decision and not testing himself
Stan Collymore has urged Declan Rice to snub Arsenal and join Manchester United because the latter are a "bigger football club".
West Ham chief David Sullivan has confirmed Rice, 24, will be allowed to leave the club this summer. Arsenal are the favourites to sign the midfielder, who recently captained the Hammers to a 2-1 win against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.
Arsenal and United will both compete in the Champions League next season after finishing second and third respectively in the Premier League. Collymore believes Rice has a better chance of winning silverware at United, with a takeover hanging in the balance.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are trying to purchase United. Regardless of who wins the takeover race, Collymore thinks United will have greater resources than Arsenal and Rice should move to Old Trafford to test himself.
"Rice needs to go somewhere where he’s going to get the opportunity to be tested, put under pressure regularly both mentally and physically," Collymore told CaughtOffside. "Where he gets the opportunity to grow under a progressive coach.
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"I know that the suggestion has been Arsenal but I think Man Utd is a better option. Why? Bigger football club, bigger expectations and I think they’ve been crying out for a dominant midfield force for some years now."
Declan Rice captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory this season (PA)Do you agree with Stan Collymore? Let us know in the comments below!
Collymore added: "I think if he’s looking at the slightly longer term, whether it be Jim Ratcliffe or whomever, Man Utd are going to have more money to spend and for longer. They’ll have more money to spend on better players to put around him."
Collymore believes Arsenal will struggle to struggle to qualify for the Champions League again due to the financial power of Manchester City and Newcastle. He also expects Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham to be competitive again next season.
Collymore has also questioned whether Londoner Rice is a bit of a "homeboy". Rice started his career with Chelsea before joining West Ham's academy in 2014.
Former Liverpool and England striker Collymore continued: "If he wanted to go out of his comfort zone, I’d say go and test yourself... Rice is playing it a little bit safe and he might regret that three or four years down the line."
Rice was asked about his future after West Ham's Europa Conference League triumph. He told BT Sport: "It's not goodbye yet, there's loads of speculation about my future and there is interest from other clubs, but look, nothing's happened.
"I'm a West Ham player, I've still got two years left on my contract, I love every minute of playing for this club and captaining this club, you can see the smile on my face. It's not about that tonight, it's about us celebrating. Let's wait and see what happens."
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