Rice warned off Man Utd move in trophy jibe from West Ham legend

Declan Rice has been warned off a move to Manchester United, with West Ham legend Frank McAvennie claiming a switch to Old Trafford would do nothing for the 20-year-old’s trophy ambition.

The Red Devils have been linked with a big-money approach for the England international midfielder during the current transfer window.

His age and ability ticks plenty of boxes for those at Old Trafford, who are keeping one eye firmly fixed on the future in their 2019 recruitment plans.

Many would consider a move between Uniteds from London and Manchester to be a step up for Rice, but McAvennie is not convinced.

He has witnessed the struggles endured by the Red Devils in recent times and believes they will be no nearer to claiming major honours in the near future than West Ham are.

The former Hammers striker told Love Sport Radio on the speculation surrounding Rice: "I wouldn’t expect him to move on. I don’t think he’s ready for the big clubs yet, or so-called big ones.

"I think he’s doing wonderful [at West Ham]. He started at centre-half and now he’s a great foil for the captain [Mark] Noble.

"I think West Ham have got some wonderful players in midfield like [Felipe] Anderson, [Andriy] Yarmolenko and [Manuel] Lanzini. I just think they’ve got firepower in midfield but they need someone up front, a figure that is going to take them forward.

"Rice sits there in the middle and he will be there for England and West Ham for many years, I’m hoping."

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McAvennie added: "He doesn’t have to go anywhere with the money West Ham pay their players now.

"If he wants to go to Man United for trophies, they might be a bigger club but they’re not going to win any trophies in the foreseeable future."

Rice has been a regular part of the West Ham fold for two seasons now.

It was, however, in 2018-19 that he was moved into a holding midfield role that he has made his own.

His success in that post allowed him to switch international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England and has sparked the mounting transfer talk.

United are considered to be heading any queue for his signature, with mooted interest from Manchester City having waned in the wake of their club-record €70 million (£63m/$79m) deal for Rodri.