Transfer Rumours: Manchester City renew interest in West Ham star Declan Rice

Manchester City have reportedly renewed their interest in West Ham star midfielder Declan Rice ahead of the summer window.

West Ham captain Rice has one-and-a-half-year left on his contract with the East London club, with an option to extend it by another year. Rice has evolved as one of the most sought-after players in England and the 24-year-old midfielder is expected to part ways with West Ham at the end of the season to fulfil his trophy-winning ambitions.

For a long time, Man City have been eyeing Rice, who has seen City great Yaya Toure as his idol. The Etihad side's central midfield has always been stocked up, leaving the club to give up on Rice. However, that could change now, considering the club is at risk of losing both Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.

Portuguese midfielder Silva is linked with a move to Barcelona, while Gundogan's City career may also be coming to an end as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season. The German midfielder is believed to be in talks with other clubs over a possible move, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, English midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who moved from Leeds United to City last summer, has bagged just 21 minutes of Premier League action in the underway campaign amid various injury problems.

That leaves Pep Guardiola with just Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne as two other senior midfield options, and City are working thoroughly to look for midfield solutions, with Rice emerging as a strong candidate, reported soccer outlet 90Min.

Rice, who rose through the youth set up at West Ham, made his senior debut during the 2016-17 season. Over the last few years, he has become a strong target for several top Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool. However, any club wanting to secure Rice's services ahead of the 2023-24 campaign would have to shell out a transfer fee of around £100 million, according to another soccer outlet Teamtalk.

One of the reasons Rice is a top target for Guardiola is his ability to play the holding role and also be a powerful box-to-box midfielder. Rice has netted a goal and three assists in 28 matches in all competitions for West Ham this season.

West Ham finished seventh in the league table last campaign and bagged the UEFA Conference League, a third-tier European competition. In the ongoing season, West Ham have however failed to maintain the same standards as they are on the verge of getting relegated, which is doing them no good in their bid to retain Rice for the next campaign. The London Stadium side is currently placed 18th in the league table with just five wins from 22 matches.